Garden Q&A: Hedge leaves have holes and are curling up. Why?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

Portuguese laurel hedge. File picture

I have a beautiful Portuguese laurel hedge that is about 15 years old. When I prune it I leave the trimmings at the base of the hedge as a form of compost. Recently, I noticed a lot of the leaves on the hedge had small holes and were curling up. I checked on an app and it diagnosed shothole disease. The solution advised was that I should remove all the dead cuttings — which I have now composted from under the hedge — but it seems a shame to remove them. What do you think?

ANSWER

Yes, letting the leaves break down at the base of the hedge is certainly compounding the problem. Your hedge could well have two diseases — bacterial leaf spot and fungal shothole. 

The hedge should be strong enough to outgrow them, provided the growing conditions are improved. 

As the prunings will also have the disease pathogens active on them, leaving them on the ground will lead to the disease spreading back into the hedge. 

By all means compost the prunings but ideally in a compost bin, in another part of the garden.

•  Got a gardening question for Peter Dowdall? Email [e-mail]