Hedge dying - seeking advice please

ciaranburke

Hi. I am novice gardener who moved into home with large hedgerow. in the last year a section appears to have died. Green leaves develop black spots , eventually turn yellow / black and die. Can I treat or should a cut back to prevent additional spread. Unsure of plant type. See photos attached. Many thanks Ciaran

Greengage · Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 1:58 pm Post subject:

I tried to blow up the pic and It looks like an Escellonia hedge, If im right you may have Escellonia leaf spot which can cause defoliation of the plants , there is no chemical control available to the amateur gardener. Remove the plants or try cutting back hard to stimulate new growth it could also spread and cause the rest of the hedge to die off as well. Maybe Im wrong but that is what I suspect you have.
There is more info on he RHS website if you look here, http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=108

Sive · Posted: Sun Dec 08, 2013 2:55 pm Post subject:

If it is escallonia, as Greengage suggests, it isn't actually dead and will put out healthy young leaves in the spring again, but you would have to put up with it looking bare in the winter. Short of starting a new hedge from scratch there's not a lot you can do.....maybe a close up photo of the healthy growth ( leaves ) would help towards a more positive identification.

michael brenock · Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 7:10 pm Post subject:

I am not sure what type the hedge is but I doubt if it is Escallonia as all the hedge would be equally damaged by the fungus. it looks like a root disease and while it may sprout again from below ground level I would not rate it's chances very high. If it is Escallonia and it makes a recovery with the aid of fungicides then it will only be a temporary one. Be prepared to replace the dead ones with some other type like Laurel, berberis or Beech.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

Greengage · Posted: Mon Dec 09, 2013 8:21 pm Post subject:

Im not sure of the hedge type waiting for better pic so was speculating, I also thought it may be Honey fungus but but did not want him to have no hope, i was going to ask next time if there was any fruiting bodies seen i.e mushrooms.
Ill wait until Ciaran gets back with an update,

tippben · Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 5:14 pm Post subject:

It does look like Lonicera nitida. One plant is dead, and it's neighbours look infected. Certainly a fungal pathogen, and I agree that it's probably soil borne. Possibly Phytopthera? If it's honey fungus, you'll find black "bootlace" rhizomorphs on the roots of the dead plant, as well as mushroomy smelling white mycelium under the bark.

Greengage · Posted: Tue Dec 10, 2013 7:04 pm Post subject:

now theres a man who knows his mushrooms

ciaranburke · Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 10:21 am Post subject:

Hi. Thanks everyone for your help. Trying to upload additional photos but file size of 1M is not allowing me to. Any tips please. Thanks Ciaran

Brendankearns · Rank attained: Rowan Tree Joined: 01 Feb 2013 Posts: 133

Ciaran, send the pic from your phone to your email address, it'll ask you what size (mb) you want the picture to be - select small and send. Once you receive the email upload the picture in the email and it'll be less than 1mb.

Greengage · Posted: Tue Dec 31, 2013 3:31 pm Post subject:

maybe you should check out Seiridium Canker if its an evergreen plant.

ciaranburke · Posted: Mon Jan 06, 2014 8:07 am Post subject:

Pictures attached . Hopefully this will help diagnose the problem. Many thanks all for your assistance.Kind Regards and a Happy New Year Ciaran