Pest eating purple leaf sand cherry

What's been eating the leaves off my purple leaf sand cherry?

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**FULL QUESTION** Dear *Gardening Life*, Last fall, something ate almost all the leaves off my purple leaf sand cherry. Will this harm it for this coming season? How should I address this? *—Shelley Goselin*

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**FULL ANSWER** I’m afraid that purple leaf sand cherries (*Prunus cistena*) are susceptible to numerous pests and diseases including trunk cankers, borers, Japanese beetles (these do significant damage to the foliage), aphids, scale, tent caterpillars, leaf spot, powdery mildew, root rot and fireblight. As a result, these shrubs usually have a lifespan of only 10 years if that. Your plant should survive one attack but repeated defoliations will weaken it substantially. The best defence is growing the healthiest plants possible. Give them moist but really well-drained soil, augmented or top-dressed with lots of organic matter, in full sun. After flowering, prune out a few of the oldest branches to keep the interior of the tree or shrub open to light and air. Water during dry spells. If you lose your sand cherry, consider replacing it with purple ninebark (*Physocarpus opulifolius* ‘Diabolo’), which is more pest- and disease-resistant and offers burgundy-brown foliage and pretty flowers to boot. Good luck! *—Karen York* Other questions recently answered by the GL team: Eliminating earwigs from clematis flowers Beetle damage to spruce trees Removing whiteflies from hibiscus leaves Building a cactus garden Maintaining redbud trees Maintaining Boston ivy growth Using black walnut leaves for mulch Stopping powdery mildew on maples Planting trees near a swale Growing on a septic field How to battle weeds between flagstone and alternative options Mysterious orange powder on the lawn What to do with end-of-season potatoes on the vine How to control Japanese knotweed What to grow in a dry area The proper way to plant astrantia What is the star flower and how do I manage it? How do I eliminate my ant problem? Preventing red beetles from attacking lilies Vine types to grow on a new pergola Maintaining purple fountain grass Keeping bougainvilllea healthy throughout the winer How to rid invasive green goutweed Good garden uses for fireplace ashes Growing grape hyacinth indoors The best way to convert a lawn into a meadow The proper way to grow rhododendrons Eliminating beetle damage to spruce trees Annual resembling Japanese maple Planting ivy near cedar trees In search of the 'Sundance Kid' sunflower Caring for canna bulbs A supplier for barren strawberry ground cover Winter care for roses Cutting back mauna loa The best time to harvest curly-leaf lettuce Eliminating invasive trumpet Caring for double-flowering hibiscus trees Eliminating white aphids from honeysuckle vine Where to purchase Japanese blood grass An alternative to rhododendrons Growing a vegetable garden over a septic field Dividing and replanting daylilies Proper care for oakleaf hydrangea The best care for shrub roses 'The Fairy'

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