diseases

Diseases and pests concerning bamboos in Northern Europe

Bamboos, not being indigenous plants, are not very susceptible to disease and are not much attacked by pests outdoors. Nevertheless, we have been able to observe some of them.
According to our experience, none of them (except fieldmice) can endanger the plants and usually preventive and organic measures are sufficient to hold them in check.

Slugs

Slugs can eat away shoots popping up from the soil when they are very tender.

On the above picture, the damage caused by slugs is noticeable.

Sometimes, the culm is so eaten away that it breaks before maturity. However, the damage can be minor on a large clump of bamboos and there is no need to intervene drastically.

Pictures below: both sides of the leaves are attacked by mites.

We can notice lighter spots on leaves of some bamboos.

It is due to a mite called Schizotetranycus celarius.

When strongly attacked, the plant can be weakened but this has no serious consequences because mites usually affect the bamboos at the end of the summer.

If you spot a plant which shows these symptoms,

we advise you to apply an acaricide as a preventive measure in spring twice at three to four- week intervals the following year in order

to prevent other plants from being attacked.

Fieldmice

Fieldmice can eat away the young shoots emerging from the soil but digging their tunnels under the plant can have more serious

consequences: the bamboo can be uprooted and lack moisture.

The problem can be solved in two ways.

1When you dig a hole for planting, cover its bottom with a wire-mesh.

The underground anti-rhizome barrier can also hold fieldmice in check.

Aphids

Some years, several young shoots of bamboos can be attacked by aphids.
These cause the leaves to develop a shiny, waxy, sticky covering- so-called honeydew (sooty mould).
It doesn't look nice but it doesn't weaken the fully grown plant.