Problem with shrubs

Crag30

I don't know what's happening to our shrubs lately, never been a problem before.
We have a boxbush that seems to be dying, a hebe and blueberry bush not looking the best of health and the other (I don' t know the name of) that looks dead rather than unhealthy

I can't see any bugs on them

[Deleted User]

It's difficult to give the correct advice without a bit more info and pictures of the plants themselves aswell as the surrounding areas.


You're talking about evergreen plants not deciduous so it's not a case of them taking a longer time to clothe the stems.


Have they been in the ground long - are they established or less than a year old ?


One reason is lack of water at the roots - this is common in sunny and/or windy spring weather where a lot of shrubs will shed some of their foliage and then get back to their normal leaf production in the next few months.


Another reason is harsh pruning around that time which halts, slows, or stops its growth.


Another could be weedkiller accidents - in your own garden or a neighbouring one.


Another could be root damage whilst planting a new plant in close proximity to the roots of these plants.


The blueberry though is not a plant i'm experienced with, perhaps someone who grows their own produce will be able to help there.

-taff

Has your box got box blight? If it's brown in the middle, it's got blight.

Crag30

I can't get pictures up till next week, but in the mean time:

The Hebe was planted about three years ago, the blueberry is in a large pot on it's own and has been for about four years.
The boxbush is more brown on parts of the outside and the bottom, inside doesn't look too bad. It was mentioned that there was boxbush caterpillar in the area and so have been treating it with Bug killer recommended by RHS, yet I've yet to spot one.

Misslayed

I lost one of my blueberries to vine weevils - it was in a pot. Dig it up and look for the hideous little grubs. A quick google will show you what they look like. Not sure if they like munching box or hebe, I have the latter, it's going strong, but I'm actively battling the beasts with nematodes (there's a vine weevil farm next door :mad:)

Crag30

What was a bit more concerning, somebody across the street has a problem with a couple of their mature shrubs

-taff

Are they in a front garden or a back garden?

Crag30

They are all in the back

sheramber

Have you fed the blueberrry as any goodness in the compost wii be gone by now,

Is it planted in ericaceous compost?

-taff

Oh well, I was thinking if it wa the front had the council been round weed spraying...
Any of these ringing bells?


https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=851

Crag30

sheramber wrote: »

Have you fed the blueberrry as any goodness in the compost wii be gone by now,

Is it planted in ericaceous compost?

We do add compost annually.
I'll take some pics over the weekend and load them up