Written by Allie English

If you’ve been on Reflection Riding’s campus over the past few weeks, you may have noticed that we have removed some of our beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) and spicebush (Lindera benzoin) in our Native Plant Nursery and around the property. That is because we have recently experienced a local outbreak of mosaic virus that affected our beautyberry and spicebush plants. The diseased plants were promptly removed from our sale floor and the greater property to prevent further infection.

The plant world experiences many types of diseases–fungal, viral, and bacterial. Viruses affect plant populations with gradual, systemic infection. Although visually stunning, mosaic viruses can negatively impact many types of plants, from crops to woody natives.

When battling a mosaic virus, prevention is the best practice. Regular sanitation of gardening tools and containers can keep plants healthy and happy. Any infected plants should be promptly removed and burned. Do not compost, as the virus can become reintroduced into your garden. In our own efforts to prevent the spread of the mosaic virus to other plants, we are not currently offering these two species for fall at the nursery; a date for reintroduction is currently undecided, as we are taking every precaution to propagate only healthy vegetation. In the meantime, we are carefully propagating many other native species to help restore our local landscape.