it looks like some leaf miner or leaf beetle damage. leaf miners damage can have many different looks.

After rereading , it does look like leaf roller damage also.

So, after looking up that pest, not much I can do with it this season?

http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/IPM/english/apples/insects/leafcurling-midge.html#advanced

Is there a way to better protect next season?

Joshua, Welcome to the forum.

Leaf roller damage on redbuds is highly variable and you might not even see any damage at all next year. Normally leaf rollers will not damage enough redbud foliage on a tree to cause any permanent harm to the tree. Most trees can withstand a lot of defoliation with no permanent harm. I see leaf rollers on our native redbud trees only once or twice a decade and never have felt the damage was serious enough to cause me to spray the foliage. You could just watch for the moths to show up next year and then spray the tree with Bt 'kurstaki' if you see enough moths that it worries you.

If it is the appearance of the foliage that bothers you, you could spray preventively but you don't have to spray at all if you don't want to. It is hard to keep redbud leaves looking perfect because they are prone to disease. Redbud trees are understory trees that look better if grown in some shade for part of the day. If you have one planted out in a yard in full sun, you'll have to learn to tolerate a certain amount of imperfect foliage because the leaves can scorch in full sun, and often do. They also are a little prone to various minor foliage diseases that are unsightly but that generally are just an aesthetic issue and not a life-or-death issue.

One important thing for new gardeners to learn is that most plants do not look picture-perfect all the time and that is okay. Leaf issues come and go over the months and years and the trees grow just fine despite them.

Dawn

Thanks Dawn. In my book, I just read about lighting. It explained full sun on flowering plants is okay with some shade as long as it has access to skylight, not under a canopy or roof. So I should have done better research a few years ago and planted it with legit shade. So yes, it has morning sun and skylight access all day and it should have had an understory setup.

I just saw a special on news about the bugs and leaves after I posted this. I worried for nothing as it's just been a much wetter year which produced more of these things.

Thanks to both!

I planted a weeping redbud in my garden a few years ago. I've had leaf rollers attack it the past 3 years. It looks awful. I haven't seen it yet this year. I swear if I get them again, I'll chop it down, but then I remember how pretty it is in the Spring! I'll probably keep it, lol!

Do you think that adequate watering will deter leaf rollers? I know I don't water my trees as well as I should.

No. My redbuds have had 54" of rain this year and are not moisture-stressed at all and I saw leaf roller damage on one of them yesterday.

Leaf rollers are a perpetual problem for redbuds but here at our house they are minor and I don't even notice the damage unless I am watching for it. This is just a really bad year for caterpillars of all kinds---probably the worst year in 5 or 6 years.

Redbuds are prone to foliage issues of all kinds but people plant them anyway. I've never planted one here----they are native in our woodland and new ones pop up everywhere. I love them when they are in bloom, but the rest of the year they get hit by one thing after another that makes their foliage look ratty, and when a tiny redbud seedling pops up in our yard, we now right over it. I'd never plant one in my yard where I'd have to watch the leaves go from one pest or disease issue to another throughout the growing season because there are prettier trees that also bloom, don't have the foliage issues and are more resilient in our climate.

I am sure it is possible to keep them looking good with the use of insecticides and fungicides, but I just choose to grow trees that are low-maintenance and don't need insecticides or fungicides.

I went to the local nursery in my area (Marcum's) to look at some of the plants that are in my book. Their plants are were in pretty good condition as I walked around. I found Redbuds by accident and saw they were having the exact same issue as mine...possibly not as severe with curled leaves but some had webby like material and brown spots/holes.

The neat thing is the leaves on mine are much larger healthier than the one at my neighbors that is uncared for minus the leaf miners damage on both. :D

Dawn, I planted a weeper in my garden as a focal point. I knew it wouldn't get too big for the spot it is in. It hasn't had my issues so far this year, but I may decide to replace it in the near future. What other blooming trees would you suggest?

I am a huge fan of desert willows, which are not in the willow family and are not desert plants either. They do need somewhat well-drained soil, but the first one, which I planted about a dozen years ago, has thrived in the worst red clay soil on our property so either this red clay drains better than I think, or the tree is tougher than they say. You can buy a plain old run-of-the-mill desert willow for about the same price as a chaste tree---maybe $15 to $25 in a 3 to 5 gallon container. I found my first one at a native plant nursery in Ft Worth back when they were not easy to find. Now I see them at places like Lowe's, Home Depot or Wal-Mart every spring. They go in and out of bloom all season and mine never have had a disease or pest issue. The second one we planted is in its third year and doing great.

Plant breeders have developed some named cultivars that you can find online or in a good nursery if you want something other than the common one. Generally they have been bred for flowers in different shades or for a more compact size.

Chaste tree (Vitex agnus-castus) grows in more of a wide, spreading shape but also cycles in and out of bloom all summer. Mine is about 15 years old and hasn't given us any trouble at all (low-maintenance trees are the only ones I plant). It can fill up petty much any space you give it. Some people control its spread with heavy pruning, but I simply planted mine where it could spread to its heart's content. I pruned it a little in the early years before deciding to leave it alone and let it grow the way it was meant to grow. Both the tree and I have been happy ever since.

The deciduous magnolias are beautiful small trees, especially the Sisters group bred at the National Arboretum. This line has mostly all female names, and the one we have is 'Jane'. It blooms really early here. It needs careful attention to its moisture needs in prolonged drought.

Finally, because I have space to plant "trash trees" ( that have sentimental value), we've got one mimosa tree (which never has sprouted one single volunteer here despite its reputation for self-sowing) and one chinaberry tree. The mimosa stays in bloom all summer and butterflies and hummingbirds adore it. The chinaberry tree leafs out fairly late and blooms fairly late, filling a niche when little else is blooming. Mine has never produced a volunteer either, although the ones on the street where I grew up spread all over the whole neighborhood.

Those are a few of my favorite no-maintenance trees. I also love the native persimmons that pop up all over our property. The flowers are not showy, but the trees have gorgeous autumn foliage in shades that range from golden-orange to orange-red.

We had three persimmon groves in our neighborhood within a mile of us prior to 2011, but the drought killed the other two. I hauled water to ours in buckets to keep them alive but, when I look at their glowing foliage in autumn, it was worth every bucket of water I carried to them.

There's tons of lovely small to medium-sized trees that are low-maintenance to no-maintenance. I'd plant more but I already am fighting to keep the woodland from taking over every square inch of our land.

Dawn

Thanks, Dawn. I have a Desert Willow growing at the west end of my yard. I think the nursery may have combined/grafted a pinky-purple one and a white one. Pretty! I planted a chaste tree in the garden bed just east of the weeper. I'll probably have to cut it waaaay back this year. It got too big for its spot. I also planted a Jane Magnolia this past March, in memory of my daughter. I can't wait to see it in bloom again next Spring. I am looking for something to possibly replace the weeper. I bought a Pink Indigofera Amblyantha this year that is still in the garden pot. I thought I had a place for it, but that didn't work out. I may end up using it here.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.

WHEN the weeping redbud isn't having foliar difficulties, I love its leaves! They're shiny and beautifully-shaped.

I think the Indigo Amblyantha looks similar to the mimosa. I have fond memories from my childhood of wearing the flowers in my hair. (And making a mustache out of them, lol!) I keep trying to add a photo of the Indigofera, but it won't let me. Pretty tree/shrub.