Total amateur gardener here, help appreciated...

We have five or six different shrubs/plants spread around the garden that are all wilting/dying/dead. There doesn't seem to be any obvious cause (insects or marking on leaves etc) and we've never had a problem in the past - these are all established plants, some four or five years old.

The problem started last year when a honeysuckle started to wilt badly with the leaves going a pale silvery-green colour (a neighbours honeysuckle on the opposite side of the fence also seemed to be affected). The honeysuckle hasn't shown any activity this year it looks like it's dead but the neighbours plant seems to have recovered. Two shrubs near to it (one is a 'Hakuro Nishiki' I don't know what the other is) also seem to be affected now as do two plants on the opposite side of the garden (one of these is a cystus I don't know what the other is). Some plants very near to the honeysuckle (e.g. a cotoneaster and a small magnolia seem unaffected).

Is it some sort of virus maybe? Any help or advice would be appreciated!

On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:58:32 +0000, PaulPlant
wrote:


Total amateur gardener here, help appreciated...

We have five or six different shrubs/plants spread around the garden
that are all wilting/dying/dead. There doesn't seem to be any obvious
cause (insects or marking on leaves etc) and we've never had a problem
in the past - these are all established plants, some four or five years
old.

In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?

Pam in Bristol

Pam, we're in Staffordshire. We've had plenty of water so I don't think it's drought - no-one else seems to have the problem either. Thinking...

PaulPlant wrote:[color=blue]
Pam, we're in Staffordshire. We've had plenty of water so I don't think
it's drought - no-one else seems to have the problem either.
Thinking...


Pam Moore Wrote:
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:58:32 +0000, PaulPlant
wrote:


In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?


Have a look at this and click on Honey fungus.
Then examine your shrubs. If you do a Google image search you'll get
pics of the fruiting bodies which do smell of honey, and of the boot
lace like threads with which it spreads.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

Sacha wrote:[color=blue]
PaulPlant wrote:
Pam, we're in Staffordshire. We've had plenty of water so I don't think
it's drought - no-one else seems to have the problem either.
Thinking...


Pam Moore Wrote:
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:58:32 +0000, PaulPlant
wrote:


In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?


Have a look at this and click on Honey fungus.
Then examine your shrubs. If you do a Google image search you'll get
pics of the fruiting bodies which do smell of honey, and of the boot
lace like threads with which it spreads.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

And, as usual, I forgot the link!
http://www.armillatox.com/default.html

At first I thought you soil pH might be out of kilter but as you have had your plants for a few years I now don't think so, do you know if anyone has been using/spraying weedkiller in the area? eg.farmers /council you might have been affected by 'overspray'......just a thought!

"Sacha" wrote in message
ups.com...[color=blue]

PaulPlant wrote:
Pam, we're in Staffordshire. We've had plenty of water so I don't think
it's drought - no-one else seems to have the problem either.
Thinking...


Pam Moore Wrote:
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:58:32 +0000, PaulPlant
wrote:


In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?


Have a look at this and click on Honey fungus.
Then examine your shrubs. If you do a Google image search you'll get
pics of the fruiting bodies which do smell of honey, and of the boot
lace like threads with which it spreads.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon

Honey fungus did cross my mind but I thought that it was unusual for it to
effect so many different ,distantly spaced, plants all at the same time.
It will be interesting to hear what his examination revels.

In article , Pam Moore
wrote:

In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?

Even in the south east rainfall in Feb was 107% of average and 94% of
average in March. April is looking average too. The "drought" is over
(actually it never arrived, it was merely 'threatened' by the
Environment Agency).

Rupert (W.Yorkshire) wrote:[color=blue]
"Sacha" wrote in message
ups.com...

PaulPlant wrote:
Pam, we're in Staffordshire. We've had plenty of water so I don't think
it's drought - no-one else seems to have the problem either.
Thinking...


Pam Moore Wrote:
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 18:58:32 +0000, PaulPlant
wrote:


In what part of the country are you? Could the plants be suffering
from drought?


Have a look at this and click on Honey fungus.
Then examine your shrubs. If you do a Google image search you'll get
pics of the fruiting bodies which do smell of honey, and of the boot
lace like threads with which it spreads.

Honey fungus did cross my mind but I thought that it was unusual for it to
effect so many different ,distantly spaced, plants all at the same time.
It will be interesting to hear what his examination revels.

I've had it cross a garden in a sort of zigzag. I suppose that garden
was probably 40 feet wide and it was walled, which might make a
difference - don't know. In the end, we took out everything affected,
ground down the stumps of some old fruit trees which seemed to be most
particularly affected and did then appear to be rid of it for the final
4 or 5 years I had that house.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon