On 7/15/2007 3:52 PM, mleblanca wrote:
On Jul 15, 1:45 pm, "Goldlexus" wrote:
My cal. lilac is turning brownish. I have never had to water it during the
summer and it has always been very green a lovely all season long. This year
it is starting to turn a brownish color and looks like it has lost a lot of
leaves. Our neighbors sprinkler system has a leak and was leaking well over
a week before they turned it off. The didn't even know it was leaking, duh,
I had to go over and tell them. The neighbor still hasn't fixed their leak,
they just turn their sprinkler system on/off manually but have forgotten it
last week for 2 days. Our property got the run off from the leak right where
my lilac is. Would too much water cause this? Well it rebound?


Yes, it could very well be the problem. Calif. Lilac, Ceannothus
species,
needs to have perfect drainage and dry soil in the summer. If it has
been
soaking wet for several days/weeks it has probably developed root rot.
If you can keep it dry from now on, it may recover, but maybe not.
Some cultivars and more tolerant of water than others, but that
sounds
like a lot of water for a long time............not good.
I hope it recovers; there is no blue like that of a ceanothus.
Emilie
NorCal


mleblanca's reply might be correct. However, two other issues should be
considered.

First of all, Ceanothus is generally not a long-lived shrub. Sunset
indicates 5-10 years is typical. It might be dying of old age.

Then there is the fact that we are having a record-breaking drought
affecting much of Caliofrnia. Although Ceanothus generally survives
quite well on only the moisture from winter rains, there was not enough
rain this past winter. Thus, some supplemental watering could have been
beneficial -- but in the winter, not now.

--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/.

Don't ask "Why is there road rage?" Instead, ask
"Why NOT Road Rage?" or "Why Is There No Such
Thing as Fast Enough?"
http://www.rossde.com/roadrage.html