On 2014-10-03 09:40:36 +0000, stuart noble said:

On 02/10/2014 20:50, Simon T wrote:
OK, got another couple of questions for you.

About 5 years ago I planted a couple of little bushes/shrubs in one of
my borders.

I forget what sort they were, but the first one, although it was a slow
grower, seems to have not grown at all. Looks rather unhealthy and has
dead bits on.

I did pull back the gravel and put a bit of compost round the roots
earlier this year, but hasn't done much good. Heres a pic of the first...

http://tinyurl.com/l2syret

The second bush/shrub does seem to have grown. But looks rather sparse
and also has dead bits on it.

http://tinyurl.com/mmtok8t

I know its getting into autumn, but they don't look much better in the
summer.

Clearly they're not very happy, anything I can do to try and improve
their look?

Thanks in advance!



A lot of shrubs are doomed from the start if the root system isn't
right. I always soak them overnight and tease the roots but, if the
root ball is too dense, they will always be rather feeble specimens. I
have learnt not to trust garden centres in this respect. You're better
off buying from a market stall where the turnover is high.

Most nurseries and garden centres have a very rapid turnover! There
are certainly some good market stalls and bargains can be found but it
is then a case of caveat emptor all too often.

There is always the danger that if the plants die within a month or
two, the stall holder will no longer be at the market, either because
he or she is a seasonal seller only, took a stall for just a week or
two to sell off homegrown plants or excess stock, or because they no
longer have stock so there is no stall and therefore no comeback.

The answer to ALL plant buying is to use a trustworthy source,
whichever it is, listen to friends' recommendations and ask for
guidance on what will be best suited to your garden. But the best
plant seller in the world cannot be held to account for customers who
don't water their plants in one of the driest summers and autumns for a
very long time. It's possible the soil there is starved and poor but
that is difficult to judge as it's covered in gravel. The OP could get
a soil testing kit and see what kind of soil he has, clear off the
gravel and dig in some organic matter now before replacing the gravel.
He needs to know which way that bed is facing, too, so that he knows
how much sun or shade falls there.

In this instance, cut off the dead bits and give the plant a good, long
drink. Repeat every couple of days re watering if we don't get rain
and even then, check that the fence isn't preventing rain getting to
the shrubs if wind is driving the rain over the top of the fence.
--

Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
www.helpforheroes.org.uk