Question
Help. My Princess tree is doing very poorly. It is on my terrace with an easterly and southern exposure. The leaves, what are left of them are curled, yellow or spotted. Small birds have been landing on the branches and pecking at them. I have tried various organic sprays to no avail and at the same time need to be mindful of hummingbirds.
Judith
San Francisco
Answer
It sounds like a couple things are going on. First, the birds on the branches are obviously finding some insect pest to eat, possibly scale or thrips. What have you been spraying the plant for? Insects? Fungus? The Greenlight Rose Defense can be used to combat aphids and scale. Spinosad, a bacteria based insecticide, will work on thrips, aphids and caterpillars. Both of these sprays will not harm birds. The spots on the leaves may indicate thrips damage if they are small and black. Another problem may be that the Princess flower was damaged during the cold weather. Cold damage would be loss of leaves, twig dieback and yellowing. It would be best to take a sample into the Sloat nearest you for a better diagnosis.
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