Blueberry plants all died suddenly

Money_Grabber13579

My melons all died in much the same way as did some of the teasels. I wonder if there's a disease or if its just odd whether we're having this year.

peter_the_piper

Was it just the 5 that died or the whole 7? When did you get the 5? Were they growing well when you got them or were they dormant? Have you kept them well watered each day as the symptoms of dieback from the leaves usually points to drying out?

Gigervamp

I bought a blueberry a couple of years ago. The first year that I had it, it was fine, but last year, it needed repotting, so I put it in a pot with ericaceous compost and shortly after that it just died off.

Lotus-eater

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Was it just the 5 that died or the whole 7? When did you get the 5? Were they growing well when you got them or were they dormant? Have you kept them well watered each day as the symptoms of dieback from the leaves usually points to drying out?

I can't answer for anyone else, but only one of mine died, I've just been and pulled it out, to my surprise the roots were still in the rootball that it was planted out from.
I can only surmise that it was root bound and I should have teased out the roots when I planted it.

In that case maybe I did let it dry out, I'm not totally convinced, but it has been really dry recently, so they have been relying on me watering them with waterbutt water.

angelavdavis

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Was it just the 5 that died or the whole 7? When did you get the 5? ?

Yes just the five - the other two purchased elsewhere are fine. I got the five which are all different varieties in March this year.

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Were they growing well when you got them or were they dormant?

They were just coming out of dormancy, have flowered and fruited and seemed to be thriving until the week they started to go brown.

peter_the_piper wrote: »

Have you kept them well watered each day as the symptoms of dieback from the leaves usually points to drying out?

No its not dieback. I know what you mean by this -they haven't been allowed to dry out and were moved into a good position when they were potted up - the other plants are sitting alongside and are fine.

I haven't yet had time to knock them out of the pot and examine whether they have something like vine weevil, but there was no sign when I planted them up that anything should be wrong.

peter_the_piper

Not likely to be vine weevil as they only start layein eggs sometime around May. Having said that I'm foxed. I'll have a think and if anything more comes to me I'll post.

weerich

At last, some peeps having the same problems. Not that that is any consolation to any of us :rolleyes: but I've trawled the net and haven't been able to find anything that can explain the sudden death of both cranberry and blueberry plants. First the cranberry, as though it had been burnt.

Oh well, I thought, I still have my five blueberries, each of which I treated to a repot earlier in the year, and they were doing oh so well, each plant promised a bumper crop, just as the first fruits were forming they too began to die a quick death - again looking like they had each been scorched dry.

I've cut them right back with the faint hope that there might be a spurt of regrowth, but nothing is happening.

The plants were in their maybe fifth and third years, as far as I can remember, 2 were raised as cuttings and 3 bought.

Anyone any the wiser? Was it the sudden hot sun of April coming too early for the plants?

Freebs2008

I read in one of the various gardening magazines about a disease that has come to the UK witht eh hotter summers. I believe it is something that attacks rhododendrums and things like blueberries and cranberries. They were very worried as it would be a potential threat to the native plants like bilberries. I'm beginning to wonder if this might have something to do with these plants suddenly dying. I will have a poke arount the net and see if I can come upw ith anything else.

Have just had a look. The one I am thinking of is sudedn oak death, though it doesn't tend to affect our oaks but other heathland plants. Sure it can't be this on the blueberries but it was just a thought. Just sounds a bit similar and the aritcle I read was talking more about bilberries and other heathland plants just like the blueberries.

weerich

Hi Freebs, thanks for that response. It all sounds a bit worrying.

I found an article siting Blueberry Scorch Virus (I can't post the link apparently as a newcomer) - it sounds a little too much like what my plants suffered from. It says it is aphid borne. And, that the plants need to be destroyed. Evidence of it in N America, but not much about it being in the UK.

Ho hum. I am shedding a few soft tears

angelavdavis

I never got to the bottom of the problem, but my remaining plants are starting to show signs which is a worry.

Funnily enough, I have also had to cut the Rhodi back as that is also looking a bit sad at the moment, so perhaps the two are linked!?!

Sounds like you might have hit the nail on the head with Blueberry Scorch Virus weerich.