What's ailing my purple tree collards?

[Muse]

Uprooting, planting a shoot. Hoping to avoid this next time.

 

[Muse]

Seems all leaves have that but some have this, which I think is aphids too:

 

[bbhaag]

Looks like a combination of aphids and maybe cabbage loopers to me but hard to tell from the pics.

To control the aphids try a pyrethrin based product. The one I sell is called Triple Action and is manufactured by Ferti-lome but there are a lot of other brand names on the market that have the same ingredient.

Cabbage loopers are common on all brassica family plants. Have you noticed any white butterflies fluttering near them? If you have try a BT based spray to help get them under control.

You can tank mix both products together and spray them at the same time.

 

[Muse]

Yes! Cabbage butterflies are very very very common around here. In fact at any one time I can probably see at least one flying around in my yard. Only more common butterfly is the skipper. Both were common when I lived in Los Angeles, 400 miles south of here, decades ago.

So, those white blotches on the leaf are from the Cabbage Loopers? Before just now I never saw such infestation. Most new growth looked fine. Now, just about every leaf has round blotches on them about 1/4 inch in diameter.

What is "BT based spray"? Ah, thuricide BT. I may have a container in my refrigerator. I was fighting off the caterpillars a few years ago but stopped caring because I could always find leaves that looked OK for eating. I seldom picked them, as well, mostly just to add to a stew.

I have neem oil, too.