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/