What's eating my flowering currant?

Flowering currant (grown mainly for its spring flowers) is targeted by currant blister aphid, which disfigures leaves, and gooseberry sawfly, which can rapidly defoliate the shrub. Scale insects and vine weevil also occur. The plant is resilient and rarely needs heavy intervention — early aphid control is the main priority.

Red-tinged or yellow blisters on upper leaf surfaces from spring onwards; leaves pucker and can drop early on heavily infested plants. Check undersides of leaves in early spring; remove infested leaves by hand on light infestations; apply insecticidal soap or neem oil to the underside of foliage.

Green caterpillars skeletonise leaves from mid-spring; a large infestation can defoliate the entire shrub within a week. Scout leaf undersides for egg clusters and young caterpillars from April; hand-pick or spray with pyrethrin on ornamental plants where organic options are preferred.

Adults notch leaf margins; larvae eat roots underground, causing sudden wilting or plant collapse, more common in container-grown specimens. Apply biological nematode control (Steinernema kraussei or Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) to moist compost in late summer; use vine weevil barrier tape on container rims.