What does honeysuckle die of?
 

We have a wild honeysuckle growing in a tub, c.14 inches across and 18
inches deep, which climbs up a trellis to about 12 feet high each year.
I don't cut it back, just tidy it up each winter. It must be about 7-8
years old and its two main stems are c.10 mm in diameter (excuse change
in units!).

This year, it grew as vigorously as usual and was smothered in blossom
then, about three weeks ago, we noticed the leaves were turning brown
even though the flowers, initially, didn't seem to be affected. However,
they soon were and the whole plant has now gone brown and the leaves and
flowers are falling off. It has, to all intents and purposes, apparently
died, though cutting with secateurs reveals the centre of the stems are
still green.

There's nothing contaminating the tub as the weeds in it are still
flourishing (!), so is it old age? No book I have discusses any diseases
of honeysuckle, only mentioning aphids which it didn't have.

Thoughts anyone?

--
Malcolm

"Malcolm" wrote in message
...

We have a wild honeysuckle growing in a tub, c.14 inches across and 18
inches deep, which climbs up a trellis to about 12 feet high each year.
I don't cut it back, just tidy it up each winter. It must be about 7-8
years old and its two main stems are c.10 mm in diameter (excuse change
in units!).

This year, it grew as vigorously as usual and was smothered in blossom
then, about three weeks ago, we noticed the leaves were turning brown
even though the flowers, initially, didn't seem to be affected. However,
they soon were and the whole plant has now gone brown and the leaves and
flowers are falling off. It has, to all intents and purposes, apparently
died, though cutting with secateurs reveals the centre of the stems are
still green.

There's nothing contaminating the tub as the weeds in it are still
flourishing (!), so is it old age? No book I have discusses any diseases
of honeysuckle, only mentioning aphids which it didn't have.

Thoughts anyone?


Maybe the drought in the hot spell just before the rainy season (Wimbledon).
But if it's just the one plant, disappointing though it is, try to think of
it like this:

Everything that lives, dies. One of my (fit,slim) neighbours fell down dead
at age 38 from a heart attack. Sometimes it just happens.

Think of it as an opportunity to plant something new.

Steve

In article ,
Malcolm wrote:

We have a wild honeysuckle growing in a tub, c.14 inches across and 18
inches deep, which climbs up a trellis to about 12 feet high each year.
This year, it grew as vigorously as usual and was smothered in blossom
then, about three weeks ago, we noticed the leaves were turning brown
even though the flowers, initially, didn't seem to be affected. However,
they soon were and the whole plant has now gone brown and the leaves and
flowers are falling off. It has, to all intents and purposes, apparently
died, though cutting with secateurs reveals the centre of the stems are
still green.

There's nothing contaminating the tub as the weeds in it are still
flourishing (!), so is it old age? No book I have discusses any diseases
of honeysuckle, only mentioning aphids which it didn't have.

Don't you believe it. There are lots of things that affect woody
plants while leaving others unaffected. My bet would be on some
'fungal' infection (equally probably a slime mould, bacterium or
other unicellular organism), possibly following on from damage
caused by the weather. I have seen such deaths before in quite
a few species of plant, and there wasn't anything more to show.
And, of course, the fact that you can see mycelium on dead roots
is no evidence that the fungus was the cause of death, given the
speed of earthborne fungal infection in summer.

The above is a tad more scientific than waving my hands and calling
it the result of the amount of miasma that we have had this year,
but not a lot.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

Malcolm wrote:
This year, it grew as vigorously as usual and was smothered in blossom
then, about three weeks ago, we noticed the leaves were turning brown
even though the flowers, initially, didn't seem to be affected. However,
they soon were and the whole plant has now gone brown and the leaves and
flowers are falling off. It has, to all intents and purposes, apparently
died, though cutting with secateurs reveals the centre of the stems are
still green.

When we moved into this house we had a bird-sown one on one fence,
rooted in a few inches of soil between the fence & hedge. Prolific, it
were, and no bother. I used to give it the bowl of potato-peeling
water most nights in the summer. After 15 years one dry, hot summer it
upped and died, much as you describe, and by autumn the stems were dry
and brown.

Malcolm wrote in
:


In article , Nick Maclaren
writes
In article ,
Malcolm wrote:

We have a wild honeysuckle growing in a tub, c.14 inches across and
18
inches deep, which climbs up a trellis to about 12 feet high each
year.
This year, it grew as vigorously as usual and was smothered in
blossom
then, about three weeks ago, we noticed the leaves were turning brown
even though the flowers, initially, didn't seem to be affected.

Don't you believe it. There are lots of things that affect woody
plants while leaving others unaffected. My bet would be on some
'fungal' infection (equally probably a slime mould, bacterium or
other unicellular organism),

The above is a tad more scientific than waving my hands and calling
it the result of the amount of miasma that we have had this year,
but not a lot.

I haven't uprooted the plant yet, but was going to do so and check the
roots, though as you say it might not tell me much.


I saw a similar thing happen last year in what appeared to be a
completely healthy young apricot tree.

I also lost a kiwi fruit - I didn't think there was anything that
killed those!

Sometimes they just ups and dies on you :-(

Victoria
--
gardening on a north-facing hill
in South-East Cornwall
--