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grullablue

Is my fetterbush dead?

grullablue
13 years ago

I SO wanted some of these...and I was only able to get one locally last year....it was the last one left at the only garden center in my area that had them. I had done my research. And just so happened the woman I talked to up there had several of them in her own yard for years with good luck. So I bought it...hoping to get more this year. But I'm afraid it's dying! It's a scarletta fetterbush (leocothoe fontanesiana "scarletta"). Supposed to be evergreen...and it's still green down below...

I planted it mid-late May and kept it watered as directed, it looked great through summer and fall, and into winter. But it's been really cold, and we've had a lot of snow. Now it's gotten warm (40's) and we're getting quite a bit of melting, and it looks like this....can I save it? The brown on top is dry and dead looking.

Angie

{{gwi:242479}}

Comments (10)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    13 years ago

    looks like it fully zone appropriate ....

    you need to get down there.. and see what the buds look like .... if they are still green/brown.. and hard.. you should be all set ...

    if they start turning black or get squishy .. then you have problems..

    it may be too soon to tell in z5 ... really.. only time will tell ...

    trust me.. having been in z5 my entire life ... Feb. is way to early to be worrying about what will live or die ...

    i have had small conifers.. pines.. lose every needle the first year after transplant.. shocking.. but the buds made it ...

    do NOTHING .. but wait ...

    good luck

    ken

    ps: any chance you fertilized it late last fall.. or all summer??? .. did it have time to fully harden off .. or was winter a fast shock last fall ...

  • grullablue
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    I didn't fertilize. =(

    Winter didn't come on too suddenly...it had time to adjust. I'll check it out more closely...it is green underneath yet...was just afraid it may be in the process of dying...hopefully not!

  • botann
    13 years ago

    Not fertilizing it late in the season is a good thing grullablue, not bad. (I noticed your sad face.) The problem with fertilizing late is that it induces new growth the wrong time of year. The new growth doesn't have time to harden off and get ready for winter and consequently suffers or dies.
    Ken's right, .... wait awhile. Patience is the name of the game now.
    Mike

    Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    13 years ago

    It looks to me mostly like winter burn. It may be from youth - roots aren't really well developed yet or it may be getting winter sun. I find mine do best if they don't get any winter sun, though most years this isn't a problem since they are completely buried in snow. In spring when the weather and soil warms up they push new leaves to replace any that have been damaged.

  • grullablue
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Well, here we are, May, and I'm sure nhbabs is correct that my fetterbush suffered from winter burn. It was a newly planted shrub last summer, and is along the foundation of my house. It does not get sun...it's under an overhang of my house which doesn't let the sun in. But...it was newly planted!

    So...a couple of questions....should I prune off the burned branches on this shrub? And, since it will have been planted in that spot over a year by this coming winter, should I leave it, or should I give it some protection for this coming winter? I've just found out that the place where I ordered this one will not be carrying them this year =( so I will not be picking up any more...locally anyway. I hunted locally so heavily last year...

    My gut says go ahead and prune the burned sections off to let the plant give energy to the living parts underneath, it looks good underneath, so I don't believe it's a loss. The leaves are definitely dry and brittle, I actually snapped one of the branches, which also was dry and brittle, so we're not just talking burned leaves here. The branches they sit on are as well.

    I really read up a ton on these shrubs...but winter burn was something I did not hear about....I'd have definitely tried to protect it the first winter!

    Angie

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    12 years ago

    how about an updated picture ...

    damaged leaves usually shed themselves.. sooner or later ....

    but branches that are dead to the end.. may as well be pruned of.. back to a viable bud ...

    ken

  • grullablue
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I finally got an updated photo....thanks for your concern!

    {{gwi:242480}}

  • grullablue
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    well, I ended up pruning the dead stuff off. I only pruned the stems that were brown...some of those stems, where they came up from the plant, had some green, so I cut them off where the green stopped and the dead, dry stuff started. There's not much of my pretty little fetterbush left. I hope it lives. I can't tell you how in love with this shrub I was when I bought it and planted it last summer....it just kills me to see it now. I did SO much research on them, but winter burn was not something I read anywhere. If the shrub lives, should I cover it up for winter this year? Should I fertilize it now? It's not much to look at anymore.......and I planted it right next to my front door. The other plants in that bed are doing very well, hostas and painted ferns, but this one is so sickly looking....

  • oakiris
    12 years ago

    Angie - Generally speaking, shrubs/trees should never need fertilizer, all they need should already be present in the soil. If a soil test has shown that something is lacking, then just add that. A plant that is already under some stress does not benefit from fertilizer, either, IMHO. Let it recover.

    The only good thing about this is that winter is the time to prune these bushes, if necessary...still, like you, I would prefer that I did the pruning, not Mother Nature!

    It sounds as if you had good snow cover for the winter (something I don't have here in Colorado :-( ) so the roots should still be in good shape. They will start pumping water and nutrients to the rest of the shrub and allow the bush to recover its vigor.

    As far as winter protection from the sun, perhaps you can try just putting a simple screen in for the winter - a couple of stakes and some shade cloth protecting it from the side from which the sun shines on it. This will also give it some protection from the wind.

    Holly

    Here is a link that might be useful: Protecting trees and shrubs from winter damage

  • grullablue
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Thanks for the info! This shrub doesn't receive any sun.... this is why I bought it, I needed something suitable for shade there, so I was assuming by "winter burn" it was from the cold. The shrub is planted on the north side of my house, along the foundation, under an overhang, so no direct sunlight reaches there...although it was covered in snow over the winter.

    I won't fertilize then, I'll just make sure to keep it watered, and let nature take its course....there's still green, so it should recover...I'd just hoped to see it grow fuller this year, not get smaller! =)

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