"Martin Brown" wrote in message
oups.com...
I spent most of yesterday digging out an old Ceanothus bush that had
suddenly taken a turn for the worst. Half of it died back a month ago
and was pruned and burnt. The cuts showed a red orange ring in the
diseased wood.

The rest of it succumbed in a matter of a few days from healthy
looking green bushy plant to distinctly dead. It seems they are
succeptible to verticillium wilts. What other shrubby plants should I
not plant back in the large border ap where this came from, and how
deep should I dig out for the old roots?

There is a mushroomy smell and white hyphae in another part of the
same border, but AFAICT a clear space between that and the affected
bush. I don't really know much about these fungal diseases of plants.

Thanks for any advice.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Don't panic! Ceanothus do just die when they reach a certain age and
although the cause may well be fungal it is not necessaraly going to affect
anything else, clear the ground revitilise the soil and if replacing with
another evergreen wait till spring.

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of National collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cultivars