I moved a 3x3 feet ceaonthus last november as it were getting far too big for its position.

anyway now its not looking too good, all of it looks as though the leaves are struggling to get water, so its possible I didn't take as good of care of the roots as i thought. and one third, of a particular branch look very nearly dead, almost completely dried up.

any suggestions on what to do now? my mum's suggestion was to buy a bottle of plant doctor and pour it into surrounding soil undiluted, anyone had any success with this?

not bothered about flowers in may this year, just want to make sure it survives, so any recommendations are most welcome

thanks for your help,

matt

Tiger303 wrote:
I moved a 3x3 feet ceaonthus last november as it were getting far
too
big for its position.

anyway now its not looking too good, all of it looks as though the
leaves are struggling to get water, so its possible I didn't take
as
good of care of the roots as i thought. and one third, of a
particular
branch look very nearly dead, almost completely dried up.

any suggestions on what to do now? my mum's suggestion was to buy a
bottle of plant doctor and pour it into surrounding soil undiluted,
anyone had any success with this?

not bothered about flowers in may this year, just want to make sure
it
survives, so any recommendations are most welcome

I'd say it was too big to be moved safely. They also don't like being
shaded, or being exposed to frosts and cold winds: a tricky
combination. Whole branches of a healthy specimen will die if that
particular part is shaded or crowded by other shrubs. I'd be inclined
to scrap it and buy a new one.

Mike.

Tiger303 wrote:
I moved a 3x3 feet ceaonthus last november as it were getting far too
big for its position.
anyway now its not looking too good, all of it looks as though the
leaves are struggling to get water, so its possible I didn't take as
good of care of the roots as i thought. and one third, of a particular
branch look very nearly dead, almost completely dried up.

Did you cut it back at all when you moved it? In general it is wise to
cut back a shrub when you move it because you disturb its roots, which
means it is less efficent etc. at getting water & nutrients until it
settles into the new spot. And consequently it starts dying back.

any suggestions on what to do now? my mum's suggestion was to buy a
bottle of plant doctor and pour it into surrounding soil undiluted,
anyone had any success with this?

I wouldn't bother with that at all - and definatley not at this time of
year. (What is is anyhow?)

I'd cut out the dead and dying bits, give it a haircut, and keep it
watered well (but not waterlogged) right from now until this autumn.
Don't water too much in this weather - it won't need a lot, but it does
need some.

Give it a bit of grub in the spring - not too much - maybe manure or
chicken pellets or whatever you have to hand.

HTH

Sarah

P.S. Some people find ceanothus touchy, and it has been known to die if
pruned back hard - so go easy. OTOH, I cut my ceanothus down to 4" last
year and it lived!

snip
not bothered about flowers in may this year, just want to make sure it
survives, so any recommendations are most welcome

I have a very old Ceanothus and two summers ago it looked as if it was
on its last legs, I cut off all the dead bits that I could find and gave
it one hell of a pruning, I thought that I had gone too far but last
summer it bounced back and is now doing really well. I know that this is
not the same as moving it but I believe that they are pretty tough
shrubs and you have nothing to lose by giving it a good haircut. I don`t
know about feeding it I`m sure someone else will be able to advise you
on that one

good luck

kate

Tiger303 wrote in message
...

I moved a 3x3 feet ceaonthus last november as it were getting far too
big for its position.

anyway now its not looking too good, all of it looks as though the
leaves are struggling to get water, so its possible I didn't take as
good of care of the roots as i thought. and one third, of a particular
branch look very nearly dead, almost completely dried up.

any suggestions on what to do now? my mum's suggestion was to buy a
bottle of plant doctor and pour it into surrounding soil undiluted,
anyone had any success with this?

not bothered about flowers in may this year, just want to make sure it
survives, so any recommendations are most welcome

thanks for your help,

matt


--
Tiger303

Hi Matt,

I'm inclined to think that a 3'x3' Ceanothus isn't that huge and ought to
have moved with better success. As the others say, Ceanothus don't like
being moved, but if you took good care (and a large ball of soil with the
roots), I would have thought it was in with a chance.

Sometimes C's die back limb-by-limb for no apparent reason. When mine
started to do this, I responded by cutting those limbs out. The decline
continued and I hacked it right back (as another urgler did) with astounding
success.

I suspect that your real problem was not moving the shrub, but drought.
Last summer was very droughty; even the hard 'stair-rod' rain we
occasionally had just ran off the surface. It's also worth remembering that
freezing weather can cause drought by solidifying soil moisture so that it
is unavailable to the plant roots. I proved this earlier this month when I
watered a Euryops in full collapse. I had believed the Euyrops to have
collapsed due to severe frost, but then remembered the freezing drought
theory. A good watering soon had it perked up. Winter watering is fraught
with difficulty, but was essential in this case - as it would be with a
transplanted shrub.

I suggest you regularly check your plant and cut back any dead or dying
wood, leaving a clean, healthy cut or stump. Water it thoroughly whenever
reasonable weather permits. If it's going to survive, you will know by
May-time when it should be making new growth. Give a modest dose of general
fertiliser (never feed a sick plant) to give it a boost. By the end of
July, give it some rose or tomato fertiliser (which is high in potash), to
ripen this year's wood so that it will harden off enough to survive the
coming winter.

Best of luck.
Spider