In article ,
Chris Hogg wrote:
On Sat, 24 May 2014 13:46:17 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

I grew C. "Zanzibar" for many years on Sussex clay. It did very well
despite once being partially blown over in a gale (I got it as upright
as I could and staked it for a couple of years). When I moved, it had
been in the ground over a dozen years. It got a bit scruffy below 1
metre, but never reverted or showed any sign of losing variegation. It
survived some very cold winters (-10°C) without a mark, despite the
variegated form supposedly being less hardy than non-variegated
Ceanothus. In another place in the garden, C.thyrsiflorus repens did
well until it got smothered by other, higher-growing, plants. It too got
very scruffy before it disappeared.

I'm now growing Ceanothus arboreus 'Trewithen Blue' in South Hampshire,
again on clay. But despite supposedly being a plant which is quite happy
in drought conditions, it lives in a very wet area after heavy rain -
almost boggy. It seems to be thriving.

Mine never seem to last more than a few years. I think there's more to
their loss than just salt gales, although they're bad enough, nor is
it cold, as we seldom get frosts below -2C. I suspect fungal attack
has a significant effect due to the high humidity here, as even ones
fairly well protected from the weather seem to progressively lose
their foliage until they become unattractive and flower only sparsely.

I am certain that is true. I have problems with labiate herbs,
especially in wet winters, with their roots rotting. And I have
problems with germinating beans (so I do that indoors). And, in
the front garden, I have lost a lot of trees and shrubs (but not
all). All are definitely fungal in nature, but it is quite likely
that they get infected only when damaged in some other way first.

I suspect that the need for good drainage in many plants isn't
that they WILL die if they don't have it, but that they are more
susceptible to soil-born fungal attack. So they will sometimes
thrive even when they "shouldn't".


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.