Dying bush (Part A)

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
happydadto5 Burke, VA May 09, 2008

This is my neighbors bush which she asked for help on. I'm not sure what kind of bush it is. It is a low soft bush about 6 feet wide and 4 feet deep. It is an evergreen. One side of it has gone completely bare. The is no dead wood. The wood you see in the "dead" spot all is green at the end. Something is causing the gaping hole to appear. Her husband wants her to rip it up and start over. In this picture, it looks pretty good because it was taken from the top front. In the next post, I'll show you what's happening to it.

Any suggestions on what to do?

Thumbnail by happydadto5
Post #4926280
Quote
happydadto5 Burke, VA May 10, 2008

Forgot to post the picture of the problem area

Thumbnail by happydadto5
Post #4930694
Quote
ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) May 10, 2008

Are there any signs of disease or anything on any of the leaves? Some shrubs just grow that way, when you have a really dense top like this shrub does, sunlight can't get past that top layer, so nothing inside is going to be able to grow and be green. I think the trouble may be that this isn't one of those shrubs that's meant to be constantly sheared into shape like that. I'd need a closeup of the flowers to know for sure, but the reddish brown trunks make me thing it's an Arctostaphylos (manzanita) of some sort, if so here are some pics of how it should look if it was left to grow naturally (Yours is probably a different species than some of these pics so don't use them for the sake of ID, this is more to demonstrate the growth habit if it's left to grow naturally) http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/manzanita2.jpg
http://www.naturesongs.com/vvplants/manzanita1.jpg
http://www.zimwalk.org/sidewinder/photos/pics/manzanita.JPG
This one's one of the treelike ones, but it gives you an idea of how the trunks are supposed to be a focal point of the plant http://www.pbase.com/bryan_murahashi/image/57113729


Post #4931236
Quote
rcn48 Lexington, VA(Zone 6a) Jun 11, 2008

A little late finding this thread, but your photo looks like a mature planting of one of the Heathers - Calluna vulgaris http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/1646/. We've got a few in the landscape that have been there for over 10 years and we had similar problems, however our problem was caused by the dogs choosing the soft foliage for a bed over the winter! LOL Your neighbor's looks a little worse than what we had to deal with, but we pruned ours back hard and even though it took almost 2 years for it to recover, it finally looks normal and full once again.

Post #5086267
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Garden Pests and Diseases Threads

Go to all Garden Pests and Diseases threads
BACK TO TOP