Two bushes with dead bits problem
Sorry to be vague about what sort of bushes, but I'm really a veg-growing
person and know next to nothing about flowers and shrubs. I have two bushes in the garden, been there since I came here over 10 years ago, and were well established then. So, guess at 15 years old, approximately the age of the house. Both bushes are showing serious dead bits, which appear to be spreading. Photographs at: http://nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/c468319.html I assume I should cut my losses and dig them up. This is not necessarily a bad thing as a re-planning of the area they dominate is long overdue. The real question is whether its a disease which will remain in the soil, and if that limits what I should consider as replacement plantings. Bush 1 used to be approximately hemispherical, and had much lusher glossy leaves. It would flower with small white flowers. First showed some small dead areas around two years ago, and these were cut out in the hope that things would grow back. Bush 2 is less well shaped, varigated leaves. Showing dead bits on one side recently. The ground is heavy clay. House in Suffolk, so winter tends to be mild. Die back is not on the same side on each; so I doubt its a wind effect. A couple of years ago, someone on this newsgroup diagnosed "Holly leaf blight, caused by infection with Phytophtora illis bacteria" on a small holly plant. That plant was removed and destroyed, and the other hollies are fine. These two bushes are more than 20 feet from where the problem holly was located, though on the main route into the garden, so the infected holly would have passed them on its way to the fire. Many thanks for any help. - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message ... Sorry to be vague about what sort of bushes, but I'm really a veg-growing person and know next to nothing about flowers and shrubs. I have two bushes in the garden, been there since I came here over 10 years ago, and were well established then. So, guess at 15 years old, approximately the age of the house. Both bushes are showing serious dead bits, which appear to be spreading. Photographs at: http://nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/c468319.html I assume I should cut my losses and dig them up. This is not necessarily a bad thing as a re-planning of the area they dominate is long overdue. The real question is whether its a disease which will remain in the soil, and if that limits what I should consider as replacement plantings. Bush 1 used to be approximately hemispherical, and had much lusher glossy leaves. It would flower with small white flowers. First showed some small dead areas around two years ago, and these were cut out in the hope that things would grow back. Bush 2 is less well shaped, varigated leaves. Showing dead bits on one side recently. The ground is heavy clay. House in Suffolk, so winter tends to be mild. Die back is not on the same side on each; so I doubt its a wind effect. A couple of years ago, someone on this newsgroup diagnosed "Holly leaf blight, caused by infection with Phytophtora illis bacteria" on a small holly plant. That plant was removed and destroyed, and the other hollies are fine. These two bushes are more than 20 feet from where the problem holly was located, though on the main route into the garden, so the infected holly would have passed them on its way to the fire. Many thanks for any help. - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ Bush 2 would appear to be http://selectree.calpoly.edu/photos....KeyValue=503#6 You could cut out the dead branches and the scrub will no doubt survive and give quite a good account of itself. It does not like pruning to that extent. Regards, Emrys Davies. |
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message ... Sorry to be vague about what sort of bushes, but I'm really a veg-growing person and know next to nothing about flowers and shrubs. I have two bushes in the garden, been there since I came here over 10 years ago, and were well established then. So, guess at 15 years old, approximately the age of the house. Both bushes are showing serious dead bits, which appear to be spreading. Photographs at: http://nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/c468319.html I assume I should cut my losses and dig them up. This is not necessarily a bad thing as a re-planning of the area they dominate is long overdue. The real question is whether its a disease which will remain in the soil, and if that limits what I should consider as replacement plantings. Bush 1 used to be approximately hemispherical, and had much lusher glossy leaves. It would flower with small white flowers. First showed some small dead areas around two years ago, and these were cut out in the hope that things would grow back. Bush 2 is less well shaped, varigated leaves. Showing dead bits on one side recently. The ground is heavy clay. House in Suffolk, so winter tends to be mild. Die back is not on the same side on each; so I doubt its a wind effect. A couple of years ago, someone on this newsgroup diagnosed "Holly leaf blight, caused by infection with Phytophtora illis bacteria" on a small holly plant. That plant was removed and destroyed, and the other hollies are fine. These two bushes are more than 20 feet from where the problem holly was located, though on the main route into the garden, so the infected holly would have passed them on its way to the fire. Hi Nigel, The first bush is Choysia ternata (Mexican orange blossom), I doubt very much that it's a disease that's killed it, more likely lack of light, water or just old age. I had one about the same size as yours, it had a large tree branch fall on it, killing one side, I cut out the dead bit, but it looked lopsided for a so long that I decided to take it out. It looks like yours has outgrown the position that it's in, so I'd suggest taking it out and replacing it with something smaller. The second bush is Eleagnus pungens 'Maculata', again I'd suggest that it's lack of light, water or old age that's killed some of the branches, rather than disease. Just cut out the dead branches. I've got one of a similar size, it does get branches and leaves that try to revert to the native green, I take these out on a regular basis without causing any problems to the rest of the shrub. If you are going to keep them or dig them out, I'd suggest applying plenty of compost/mulch to the soil. HTH. Cheers Nick http://www.ukgardening.co.uk |
Nick Gray wrote:
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message ... [..........] I have two bushes in the garden, been there since I came here over 10 years ago, and were well established then. So, guess at 15 years old, approximately the age of the house. Both bushes are showing serious dead bits, which appear to be spreading. Photographs at: http://nigelcliffe.photobook.org.uk/c468319.html [.....] The first bush is Choysia ternata (Mexican orange blossom), I doubt very much that it's a disease that's killed it, more likely lack of light, water or just old age. The second bush is Eleagnus pungens 'Maculata', again I'd suggest that it's lack of light, water or old age that's killed some of the branches, rather than disease. Just cut out the dead branches. If you are going to keep them or dig them out, I'd suggest applying plenty of compost/mulch to the soil. Thanks Nick (and Emrys for the earlier identification). Looks like digging up and bonfire for the Choysia. There are some healthy looking young shoots near the centre. They might be suckers rather than growth from the stem. Is it worth trying to save those, or just give up on that plant and purchase new at the nursery ? The Eleagnus will be given a new chance and some mulch, after a prune of the dead bits and a clean out underneath. I've some compost from the heap and also some well rotted horse muck which can be mixed for the mulch. Water could be an issue; its been fairly dry in recent years, and I don't water things, except for new plantings and the vegetables. And a switch to a more targetted irrigation system for the vegetables has probably reduced the amount of general garden water. Light is unlikely to be an issue as there has been no change in buildings or shade in over 10 years. Many thanks for the advice. regards, - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote Looks like digging up and bonfire for the Choysia. There are some healthy looking young shoots near the centre. They might be suckers rather than growth from the stem. Is it worth trying to save those, or just give up on that plant and purchase new at the nursery ? With some tender loving care I think that the Choisya will survive and within twelve months it should be back to its oldself. Or, if you think that it has had its day, you could replace it with http://tinyurl.com/558xl if you have a liking for the Choisya. This one is quite striking, as you can see. Regards, Emrys Davies. |
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message
... [..........] Thanks Nick (and Emrys for the earlier identification). Looks like digging up and bonfire for the Choysia. There are some healthy looking young shoots near the centre. They might be suckers rather than growth from the stem. Is it worth trying to save those, or just give up on that plant and purchase new at the nursery ? It burns really well, so stand back when throwing it on :-) Pesonally I'd take the opportunity to dig it all out and improve the soil. You could try replanting the shoots, as long as they aren't too straggly, having been reaching for the light. You've nothing to loose by replanting and leaving them in there for a couple of weeks, but it's probably going to be more worthwhile getting a better shaped plant from the nursery, or try a different plant in altogether. Water could be an issue; its been fairly dry in recent years, and I don't water things, except for new plantings and the vegetables. And a switch to a more targetted irrigation system for the vegetables has probably reduced the amount of general garden water. Light is unlikely to be an issue as there has been no change in buildings or shade in over 10 years. It looked like the bit of the choysia that had died was at the back of the plant, getting less light than the front. Many thanks for the advice. regards, - Nigel Cheers Nick http://www.ukgardening.co.uk |
Nick Gray wrote:
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote in message ... [..........] Thanks Nick (and Emrys for the earlier identification). Looks like digging up and bonfire for the Choysia. It burns really well, so stand back when throwing it on :-) :-) So fun then :-) Pesonally I'd take the opportunity to dig it all out and improve the soil. That's fine by me as I would like to re-design the area, and the Choysia is a major obstruction to sight lines in any redesign. Improving the soil has to be done as part of any re-working of that area; probably starting with a lot of digging, decide whether to bring in any better topsoil, and a trailer or two of well rotted horse muck (I have access to free heap). My main concerns were understanding the likely causes and whether it might be disease which limited my future options. Light is unlikely to be an issue as there has been no change in buildings or shade in over 10 years. It looked like the bit of the choysia that had died was at the back of the plant, getting less light than the front. That is true; the area which has died back is to the NNE of the plant, and gets virtually no sun. regards, - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
Emrys Davies wrote:
"Nigel Cliffe" wrote Looks like digging up and bonfire for the Choysia. There are some healthy looking young shoots near the centre. They might be suckers rather than growth from the stem. Is it worth trying to save those, or just give up on that plant and purchase new at the nursery ? With some tender loving care I think that the Choisya will survive and within twelve months it should be back to its oldself. I'm tempted to try, but I think I'll go with Nick's opinion, and replace. Mostly because of wanting to do something with that area of the garden, and the plant is a major obstruction to any changes. regards, - Nigel -- Nigel Cliffe, Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/ |
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