Help please, black leaves

[TreeForMe]

Hi everybody,

 

I have this tree in my front garden - no idea what kind. The leaves have gone black, like they have been infested with ants or something. This happened last year and I sprayed them with a solution of water and washing up liquid (think I read this somewhere) but to no avail. It has happened again this year. How can I improve the overall health of the tree?

[sime42]

I can't really see from the photo but it sounds like you're describing a black fly infestation. Par for the course in this kind of weather unfortunately, they like hot dry conditions. They won't do much harm to the plant in the long term but they will be a recurrent problem, you can't just treat them once and for all.

 

Some useful info. here;-

 

https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/blackfly

 

[TreeForMe]

Thank you. That’s useful. How do I treat a whole tree though?

[sime42]

With difficulty I guess. You could probably blast the tree with pesticide if you had a suitable sprayer, but I'd be inclined to leave it and let nature take it's course. The numbers will decrease in time, either through predation, lack of food or change of weather.