somebody
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:13 pm

Need Help! Plant is dying (I think)

Hello,

I am new to this forum so please forgive me if my question is at the wrong place.

I bought couple of new plant that are drought resistance since I live in California and I don't have sprinkler system set up in my planting area. Anyways, don't know what the plant is called (I tried to read it from the recipet but handwriwas bad so couldn't make up the words). here are some pictures.


[url]https://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78971&d=1269898557[/url]

[url]https://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78972&d=1269898557[/url]

[url]https://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78973&d=1269898557[/url]

Its been little more than a week since I bought them and planted them in my front yard. Now, Location of the plant is such that they get shade in the morning/afternoon then completely sunny in afternoon/evening. I been watering them every other day (eventhough nursery where I bought them said that it should be every day to help them develope roots, but I figured if I water them too much, roots may be flooded with water so much that it may not uptake nutrients very well.) Usually, the soil is little bit wet when I water them every other day.

All, I know is that its a shrub and I think its flowers are yellow. I broke a small branch off to see if they are dry inside but branch is green from inside. So I don't know if this is normal or not since they all look kind of sad and droppy. Nursery is like 30 mins away and I have two week return policy on it so don't want to dig it up and put it in the black vase that it came in and take it back to find out its ok.

Can you please help me ID this shrub and tell me what is wrong with it (if there is any).

Thank you.

cynthia_h
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7500
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Your links to the U. of British Columbia Bot Garden don't work for me; can you perhaps find other photos of this plant?

Where in California are you? Is the shrub currently in flower? There are so many gardening zones in California it's not even funny! Ask me how I know...

If you purchased the plant (by random chance) in Berkeley or the East Bay, I can suggest the names of some nurseries it may have come from. Anywhere else in this state, I have no idea....sorry.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

somebody
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:13 pm

I didn't know how to post picture so I will try:

https://img521.imageshack.us/I/dscf1983.jpg/

https://img24.imageshack.us/I/dscf1982i.jpg/

https://img231.imageshack.us/I/dscf1981x.jpg/


there we go. I am in So Cal (in city of Buena Park). Don't know too much about zones but I went to local nursery and asked for shrubs that are drought resistance and one of the suggestion was this, so I bought it.

Let me know if you need more information.

cynthia_h
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7500
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Oooooh, that is so frustrating: I know this one and can't think of its name. :oops:

How long ago did you plant the shrub in the ground? Did you dig the hole wider than you thought it "really needed" to be? ==> The roots of the shrub will need some "friendly" soil when they first begin to grow, and the backfill will be this friendly soil.

Then, fill the hole until it mounds somewhat to allow for natural settlement as you water the plant during its initial year of growth. "Drought resistant" refers to the plant after it's established in a given location. Even lavender--which I never have to water outside of the rainy season once it's established--must be watered during its first year of growth, dry season or no. The second season, I extend the periods between watering (by hand, with a watering can) until I think the plant will make it from July/August or so until Thanksgiving, the average beginning of the wet season in northern California.

(Buena Park is in Sunset Zone 22: Cold-Winter Portions of Southern California's Coastal Climate. But "cold" in this context means "seldom below 28 deg F...Annual winter lows recorded over 20 years ranged from 24 to 21 deg F....Many herbaceous perennials from colder regions fail here because the winters are too warm for them to go dormant." From Sunset's Western Garden Book.)

I would add compost at the roots of this shrub, making a small mound, and then soak the daylights out of it. Maybe a low flow for 20 minutes. Move the hose around so that all sides of the shrub are equally wet; it may even take 30 minutes.

Repeat this in a week; sooner if temps are high (80s or above).

Best wishes for your shrub.

The photos worked quite well; our webmaster has posted guidance re. photos at

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3724

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

somebody
Newly Registered
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2010 8:13 pm

Thank You very much. Its going to rain in here and there till weekend so its going to be cloudy, but I will dig it up and add some compost.

I made hole big enough so that once the plant is placed inside, I had about 4-5 inches of space all around it. Is it a good idea to add some all purpose fertilizer at the roots or on top?

I appreciate your help.

cynthia_h
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7500
Joined: Tue May 06, 2008 7:02 pm
Location: El Cerrito, CA

Don't fertilize the plant until later; you'll stimulate growth that the roots may not be able to support yet. The most important work a newly transplanted shrub needs to focus on is re-establishing its roots: root hairs (the ones that actually do the work of transmitting water and nutrients to the rest of the plant), "feeder" roots, and healing any root damage from the transplanting process.

Compost, which is a long-release source of all the nutrients a plant will need (if it's true compost and not twigs out of a bag), is fine to add back into the hole or on top. Regular fertilizer will burn any earthworms in the vicinity :( who may have wanted to help aerate the soil and create water-transmission channels for the deeper roots.

It sounds like the hole was big enough to do the job; digging the plant up will traumatize it further. I'd recommend supplementing the rain with hose water unless the rain is forecast as a major water event (2 inches or so). The compost can go on top of the surface as a mound; it will even out soon enough! Then you'll be looking for mulch (larger chips) to help keep the ground moist. But for now, I think monitoring the soil and the condition of the plant is important.

When the temps go into the 80s and stay there is when you'll want the mulch. Maybe the city has a free source? Mine has a "bring your buckets and shovel" mulch source, and I usually put about 3 inches on my roses to help in not having to water them much during the dry season.

Cynthia



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