Established Forsythia (3+yrs) are suddenly wilting, looking ill

9 years ago

Hi,

I originally posted in the new to gardening section and it was recommended to me that I post over here instead for additional insight.

I am trying to figure out what is wrong with my forsythia shrubs and am not really sure where to look. My forsythia were transplanted to our new home three summers ago. They have been doing splendidly and have grown by leaps and bounds, some are upwards of ten feet or more now. However all of a sudden it seemed like over night one seemed to be wilted, a few days later the one next to it is wilted, and a third is beginning to wilt as well now. It's progressing from the back corner of our property line up towards the front of our property line one after the other.

We haven't introduced anything new to the yard that could have infected them with something. I also disinfect my clippers and trimmers so as to not cross contaminate anything.

I looked at the leaves and they don't seem to be chewed on by anything or the like and I don't see any insects.

The soil around the bases of the shrubs isn't disturbed by anything. We have had an influx of stray cats in our neighborhood, but no evidence of them doing their business in my yard.

My yard is completely fenced in with four foot high chain link with no gate, the only access is through my garage and directly through my home.

Our summer hasn't been too hot, and we have had a decent amount of rain at pretty regular intervals.

I am desperate not to lose these as they are the only thing offering us privacy in our back yard from a less than savory abandoned property next to us.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!

Featured Answer

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

9 years ago

man o live.. thats the most complete set of facts i ever read.. congrats ..

to sum up ... no drought.. 3 years established ... cant kill it if you tried plant ... not really subject to vermin or disease .... and frankly.. looks lush as all get out ...

i hate to tell you ... but all i am left with ... is that you think something is wrong ...

i just dont see it.. its growing like a weed ...

mine.. in z5 MI.. took a severe winter hit with a z4 winter ..... not a flower on my half dozen bushes this spring ... and they look OK ... as far as overgrown old F look ...

all i am left with.. is its august ... they are getting tired ... dont worry about it ...

yeah.. i know.. its a hard lesson for a newb ... things are getting tired this time of year ...

i think its just starting its downhill slide to losing its leaves some time in Oct ...

good luck

ken

ps: can you link us to the other post.. did they say anything different????

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Comments (7)

lisanti07028
9 years ago
It was me, Ken, and I just asked the OP to check for disturbed soil around the bushes, or animal damage to the trunks, and the answer was "no" to both.
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saxidani
Original Author
9 years ago
lol, sorry if that was info overload.... :)

I just thought it was so bizarre that the the leaves all just started to wilt and hang flat and low parallel to the stems, where the others are a darker green and the leaves stand up and out. And the change was overnight...

It started with the bush farthest back and it began to proceed up the line like setting off dominoes... that was what had got me worried, it appeared like the wilting was spreading from bush to bush, one right after the other.

If they are just getting tired and ready to lose their leaves that makes me feel better. I couldn't remember for the life of me if they did this previously. I had asked my husband and he couldn't remember either.

I really appreciate the help with this. I cut and paste the link to the original post in the box below, hopefully it works.

thanks again!

Here is a link that might be useful: original post
mikebotann
9 years ago
Have you watered them yet this year or are you relying on the rain?
All that lush foliage is drawing a lot of water from the soil.
Mike
splitrock
9 years ago
It sounds like pine voles are eating the roots. You would not see anything like chew marks on the shrubs above ground. You would probably see some quarter sized holes somewhere in the area. If they like something they keep moving on to the next plant. Forsythia are seriously tough plants and may survive. You could did one up to see if the roots have been chewed on, but that won't stop the voles and would be hard on the plant that was disturbed in August.
mikebotann
9 years ago
Do the forsythias in question have root competition with other shrubs or trees that's taking the water out of the soil? Are they getting more sun than the others? The two combined might be causing the problem.
Have you soaked the wilting shrubs yet? If so, are they still wilted?
Mike
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
9 years ago
I am with Splitrock - voles. They eat the root below ground or occasionally the bark above ground if there is good cover. Try pushing down on the soil all over under the plants. If there are areas that are soft or cave in, you have voles. Firm up the ground around the bushes first. Then soak the ground under the plants with a mix of caster oil and water (1 Tablespoon per gallon) or you can get hose-end sprayers of castor oil at Home Depot.