Greetings, human caretaker. We plants cannot speak in your tongue, but if we could, we might explain the situation with our perforated leaves from our own, rooted perspective. Those holes are not a decoration we chose; they are a sign of an ongoing conversation, and sometimes a battle, between us and the world around us.
From our viewpoint, the most frequent reason for holes is simply that we are being eaten. We are a primary food source for many creatures. Tiny, rasping mouths like those of slugs and snails are often to blame. They feed under the cover of darkness or in damp conditions, using their radulae (a tongue-like organ with thousands of microscopic teeth) to scrape away our tender leaf tissue, leaving behind irregular holes and ragged edges. Similarly, caterpillars, the larval form of butterflies and moths, have powerful mandibles designed for chewing large, distinct chunks from our leaves. We try to defend ourselves by producing bitter-tasting or toxic chemical compounds, but some herbivores have evolved to tolerate them.
Sometimes, what you perceive as damage might be a natural part of our structure or a defensive reaction. While not typical for most common daisies, some related species have naturally lobed or perforated leaves. More importantly, we often sacrifice parts of ourselves to save the whole. If a leaf is damaged by disease or a particularly aggressive pest, we can initiate a process called programmed cell death. We strategically abandon the damaged tissue, causing it to die and fall away, which can create a hole. This isolates the threat, like a fungal infection, and prevents it from spreading to our more vital parts—the stem, roots, and flower buds, which are essential for our reproduction and long-term survival.
Your gardening actions can inadvertently cause damage that looks like pest holes. Accidentally knocking us with a gardening tool, having a pet brush roughly against us, or even a stray ball hitting our leaves can cause tears and holes before we have time to heal. Furthermore, when we are stressed—from lack of water, poor soil nutrition, or incorrect sunlight—our overall vitality decreases. A stressed plant is a vulnerable plant. Our cell walls may be weaker, and our production of defensive chemicals slows down, making us an easier and more attractive target for the pests mentioned above. So, while the holes may be from insects, the underlying invitation might have been our weakened state due to environmental factors.
Certain fungal and bacterial diseases can also lead to holes in our leaves. Pathogens like leaf spot diseases first manifest as small, discolored lesions on our surface. As the infection progresses, the tissue within these spots dies, becomes dry and brittle, and eventually falls out, leaving behind a hole. This is often a sign that our environment is too moist, as these pathogens thrive in humidity and wet foliage. From our perspective, this is a silent attack from within, often requiring your intervention to adjust watering practices and improve air circulation around us.
