Reader's question: Mrs Chaplin sent me some samples of leaves with holes and would like to know what could have caused them.

HOLES in leaves can be caused by many insects. Neat, semicircular holes about half an inch across with the damage always starting at the leaf edge are caused by female leaf-cutting bees, which resemble honeybees, except that they store pollen on the underside of the abdomen instead of in pollen baskets on their legs. They often nest in natural hollows in wood or underground cracks, and line their nests with the cut pieces as a food source for their young.

There is no practical way of dealing with this bee damage, other than encasing the entire plant in fine netting.

The damage is purely cosmetic.

However, leaf-cutting bees occasionally burrow into the cut ends of rose canes to nest, causing the attached shoots to wilt and die. Any canes affected in this way should be cut well below the wilting and disposed of. You can prevent this damage by applying glue to the cut ends of the canes.

If you don’t see any insects, such as aphids, on the plant but more holes keep popping up, it’s slugs. They are nocturnal pests that crawl up the stalk of your plant and onto the leaves and back down into the soil before morning.

They leave more of a skeletal pattern on the plant.

Another suspect could be a sap-sucking insect such as a psyllid, shield bug (pictured) or flea beetle. The holes that they create from piercing the leaf for food are at first inconspicuous but grow larger as the leaf gets bigger.

If the holes are from the edge in and somewhat wavy, those are vine weevils that live in the soil during the day and feed at night. They cannot fly and are often seen crawling around the house or greenhouse. They lay eggs in the soil which turn into fat C-shaped white grubs that chew their way through the roots of the plant. Often the first sign of the pest is a dead plant.

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■ Provide winter protection for walltrained outdoor figs to help the embryonic green figs that will form next year’s crop to survive the winter. Cover the plant with plastic netting and fill it with a loose layer of straw, bracken or other open material. This covering should remain on until danger of frosts has passed.

■ Take hardwood cuttings of currants, gooseberries, figs and grape vines after leaf fall. Only use virus-free plants.

Brigid co-presents the BBC Tees Green, Gardening and Great Outdoors show every Sunday from 11am to 2 pm.

Questions can be answered on the day by emailing brigid.press@bbc.co.uk anytime during the week, or texting 07786-200995 and phoning 01642- 225511 during the show. Written queries can be addressed to Brigid at Lazy DayzPlant Centre, Farm Road, Houghall, Durham, DH1 3SG