What's eating my steeds japanese holly?

Steeds Japanese Holly is an upright cultivar susceptible to the same pests as all Ilex crenata. Holly leafminer is the primary concern, disfiguring leaves with internal mines. Southern red mites bronze foliage in cool seasons. Scale insects cluster on stems and black vine weevil can devastate root systems.

Blotchy or serpentine yellow-brown mines visible through leaf surfaces from early summer onward Prune out and bin infested leaves; use a systemic imidacloprid soil drench in early spring before adults fly

Upper leaf bronze discoloration and fine stippling, especially in spring and autumn cool spells Apply horticultural oil spray in early spring; repeat with a miticide if populations remain high after foliage warms

Crusty bumps on stems and foliage; yellowing leaves and sooty mold on honeydew below Apply horticultural oil when crawlers are active in late spring; prune out heavily infested branches

Notched leaf margins from nocturnal adults; root girdling by cream larvae causing collapse Apply Steinernema kraussei nematodes to moist soil in late summer; physical trapping of adults with sticky barriers