My schip laurels are all shot up with shot hole fungus - Ask Extension
I need to take care of 7 schip laurels that have shot hole fungus. I'm unclear about how much to prune out the damage and also whether to spray with ...
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My schip laurels are all shot up with shot hole fungus #925992
Asked March 13, 2026, 2:47 PM EDT
I need to take care of 7 schip laurels that have shot hole fungus. I'm unclear about how much to prune out the damage and also whether to spray with a fungicide at this time. I would appreciate some advice.
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
The pathogen causing shot hole disease in cherry trees and cherry laurel shrubs can be one of two species, a bacterium or a fungus. If the former, a fungicide will not control it (maybe only something with copper as the active ingredient), and if it's fungal, you'd need to check the product label directions to verify it lists shot hole as one of the diseases controlled. We don't have a product list for certain plant diseases, but one or more over-the-counter fungicides should have an active ingredient that works for this fungus. That said, fungicide treatments are only preventative and cannot cure existing disease, so any leaves with symptoms currently will not improve in appearance. The shrubs will shed them over time, though, as new growth is produced, either this year or in a future year.
To suppress new infections each year, a fungicide would need to be applied first in early spring (as the new foliage is starting to emerge) in order to stop the first round of infections. To interrupt recurring infections, a second cover spray would be needed once the new leaves reach full size closer to mid- or late spring. Infection periods would generally require warm temperatures coinciding with wet weather. Rake up any fallen leaves afflicted with shot hole so they don't harbor spores that can spread the infection.
The frequency of sprays will depend on the fungicide used, so defer to the product label instructions. For comparison, the University of Georgia and NC State both recommend sprays every 7-10 days, but only when they are needed. Many Extension services stress that this very common disease can be an eyesore but it is not a serious health threat to the plants, so fungicide use should be avoided or a last resort.
If rain interrupts a spray schedule and gives the fungus/bacterium an opportunity to infect the leaves, the plant will still develop symptoms and the treatments will not work well. If you decide to use fungicide and it's successful, treatments would need to continue each spring for the life of the plants to maintain adequate protection from the disease.
You don't need to prune off shot hole damage, but winterburn (when a cold, dry winter kills leaf tissue and causes the partial or full browning and death of foliage) could be pruned off if needed (if the weather killed the branch tip in addition to the leaf tissue). That won't be evident until later in spring when new growth emerges, though; shrubs shed winter-burned leaves on their own, and only occasionally is the damage severe enough to have affected the twig tip, which contains dormant leaf buds that can grow to replace damaged leaves if needed.
Miri
To suppress new infections each year, a fungicide would need to be applied first in early spring (as the new foliage is starting to emerge) in order to stop the first round of infections. To interrupt recurring infections, a second cover spray would be needed once the new leaves reach full size closer to mid- or late spring. Infection periods would generally require warm temperatures coinciding with wet weather. Rake up any fallen leaves afflicted with shot hole so they don't harbor spores that can spread the infection.
The frequency of sprays will depend on the fungicide used, so defer to the product label instructions. For comparison, the University of Georgia and NC State both recommend sprays every 7-10 days, but only when they are needed. Many Extension services stress that this very common disease can be an eyesore but it is not a serious health threat to the plants, so fungicide use should be avoided or a last resort.
If rain interrupts a spray schedule and gives the fungus/bacterium an opportunity to infect the leaves, the plant will still develop symptoms and the treatments will not work well. If you decide to use fungicide and it's successful, treatments would need to continue each spring for the life of the plants to maintain adequate protection from the disease.
You don't need to prune off shot hole damage, but winterburn (when a cold, dry winter kills leaf tissue and causes the partial or full browning and death of foliage) could be pruned off if needed (if the weather killed the branch tip in addition to the leaf tissue). That won't be evident until later in spring when new growth emerges, though; shrubs shed winter-burned leaves on their own, and only occasionally is the damage severe enough to have affected the twig tip, which contains dormant leaf buds that can grow to replace damaged leaves if needed.
Miri
