Can this be saved?

Grandad99

Have been watering every evening for a few months but no sign of improvement. Am I wasting my time (and Kent's scarce water)

fatbelly

Are you sure its not waterlogged? Is it in a pot inside that potholder? I think I would get it out, inspect the soil for nasties and try to introduce some fresh compost. What is it btw? I can't tell

Dustyevsky

Like the Curate's egg, it's "good in parts." The fact that the live bits are so healthy, and the dead bits so dead, suggests there won't be the regeneration you hope for.

If it were mine,I'd put it 'out the back,' but to continue the literary analogy, it might be like Waiting for Godot! .

twopenny

Yes it can be saved but will be a while.

I would say it's 2 things going on here.

The pot is too small so it's got root bound. Some roots will have died as a result.

You need to take the pot out and dunk it deep enough in a bucket of water with some liquid feed in it. So the water goes over the top of the pot. You will see a lot bubbles coming out where air has got around the roots. Wait till the bubbles stop.

If you can't dunk it put the pot in an old washing up bowl and put lots of water to the rim of the pot, wait for bubbles to stop. Fill the top again and you will probably see more bubbles. Takes about 3 goes.

Remove and drain. This technique gives you lush plants that need watering less often and suffer less stress at hot times

Next, is it Box? If it is then that is box moth. Rub all the dead leaves off and get rid of any in the soil and pot. Feed something like chicken manure pellets and water in.

GrubbyGirl_2

It looks like Box. If it is then there is a hell of a lot of box blight in Kent. One of my neighbours has had loads of his box completely destroyed. If it is box blight then there is nothing you can do except dispose of it to prevent it spreading

twopenny

Grubby girl it doesn't have to be destroyed. I gave the method and mine recovered in a couple of months.

Last year it was barely affected because the moth hatching was the same time as the birds were feeding young and they cleaned it up very quickly. Plus I got more birds 🙂

Unfortunately this year the weather meant the hatching of moth and bird didn't coincide quickly enough.

carly

AIUI Box blight and Box caterpillars are 2 completely different pests. Box Blight is a fungal disease which systemically may destroy the plant if not treated. Its difficult to cure once it has a strong hold. It thrives in wet conditions. Monty Don pulled up his box after fighting it for many years.

Box Moth caterpillars are the relatively new kid on the block and cause similar looking damage. A slight attack can be thwarted by birds ( as twopenny asserts) or by vigilantly picking off the caterpillars, they leave a web so are more easily identified than blight in the early stages. There is a commercial (specific to box moth ) insecticide ( xentari ) which is effective but needs to be applied up to 3 times a year as the moths have several breeding cycles. The maker claims that it does not harm birds who can continue to eat the caterpillars, it stops the grubs feeding and hence they die. It is expensive, howeve,r if one has a lot of box hedging .

Grandad99

It's an Ilex Crenata "Jenny".

twopenny

In that case I'd try dunking the pot.

You may have been watering but if only from the top there could be air pockets and chunks of dry soil. It will come back but needs a lot of TLC.