Yes, looks like a viburnum.

Best way to help a drought stressed plant is to give it water directly - not rely on what the sprinklers might throw it's way. Get a bucket of water or watering can and put 1-2 gallons directly at the base and further out if it is a big shrub.

Can you tell from the photo whether this tree has a good chance of getting revived ? There's an a lot of shriveling but remaining 70-80% leaves are still green - although all droopy.

Yes, that is certainly revive-able.

i am in about 8 weeks of drought. high temps.. high humidity.. no night time let up ...

MOST of my shrubs look like that ...

being fully established ... i am irritated by the look .. but really dont care.. they will come thru .... mostly by definition of being a shrub ....

if you wish to be proactive.. put the hose on trickle... and give them a good long .. DEEP soak ... and they should be all set ...

whether or not the leaves uncurl.. hard to say ... but as long as they are green ... thru the end of the season.. they will be fine next year ...

ken

I'll hold up for their recovery. I'd hate to lose them, especially the magnolia! When you say "DEEP" soak, what does that mean? How do I test that it's got a good drink of water? I know I shouldn't allow it to get too wet, either. My sprinkler didn't go off because we had rain showers overnight. I poked around the base of the viburnums (and a star magnolia) that are (apparently) drought stricken and found that only about top 1" of the soil is wet. Below that, the soil is quite dry. So, I thew a bucket of water directly near the base.

The soil looked rich and airy in the spring - I would know, spent numerous hours weeding - but now it looks compact - maybe from drought conditions? I'm afraid that watering deeply might not help if the water cannot penetrate down to the roots. How far down are the roots of viburnum (and magnolia)? Is it a bad idea to "aerate" with a hand trowel so the water will drain down to the roots? I probably won't have time for that anyway, but I'm also afraid that I could end up hurting the roots poking around with a trowel...

I'll hold up for their recovery. I'd hate to lose them, especially the magnolia! When you say "DEEP" soak, what does that mean? How do I test that it's got a good drink of water? I know I shouldn't allow it to get too wet, either. My sprinkler didn't go off because we had rain showers overnight. I poked around the base of the viburnums (and a star magnolia) that are (apparently) drought stricken and found that only about top 1" of the soil is wet. Below that, the soil is quite dry. So, I thew a bucket of water directly near the base.

The soil looked rich and airy in the spring - I would know, spent numerous hours weeding - but now it looks compact - maybe from drought conditions? I'm afraid that watering deeply might not help if the water cannot penetrate down to the roots. How far down are the roots of viburnum (and magnolia)? Is it a bad idea to "aerate" with a hand trowel so the water will drain down to the roots? I probably won't have time for that anyway, but I'm also afraid that I could end up hurting the roots poking around with a trowel...

When you say "DEEP" soak, what does that mean? How do I test that it's got a good drink of water? I know I shouldn't allow it to get too wet, either.

===>>>

your soil in your yard is unique to YOU ....

go dig a hole somewhere ... maybe two or 3 ... maybe a foot wide.. by a foot deep .. and fill it with the garden hose .. right to the top .... and then time how long it take to drain away ...

in my yellow sand.. that would be about 5 minutes ... MAX ...

in hard clay.. 5 days ... lol ...

and that is basically the 2 extremes of drainage ... leaving out a theoretical thesis of soil dynamics ....

if you have clay.. then you will see that potential for over watering.. because there is no where for the excess to go .... if you have clay .. then start a new post.. or use the SEARCH function to bone up on dealing with such ....

now.. as to your bushes in particular .... get a hand trowel.. small shovel.. whatever ...

run you sprinkler.. then go out.. and dig a small hole under the canopy of your plant ... i will bet.. your sprinkler most likely has watered the top 1/8 inch of your soil ... and tht is not where a majority of its roots are.. and why it is struggling this season .. [and BTW it might never happen again...due to seasonal fluctuations from year to year]

if we want to rescue your droughted shrub .. we will have to dampen the soil down into where the roots are.. and most likely that is at least a foot or two down ...

so you put the hose on a trickle for an hour.. and then go dig another hole.. and see what happens down deep .. if you havent gotten a foot down.. run it for another hour ....

again.. we can not really speculate because we dont have your soil .... but in anything short of clay ...

one last thought... you garden beds could have been amended ... so you might need a hole to find out if the soil is different in the beds.. than elsewhere ...

no one ever said knowledge didnt hurt.. a little hard work involved here.. lol

does that help????

good luck

ken

Thanks, Ken. All makes sense. That's a lot of digging, especially when I have to work under a canopy of shrubs/trees! (I have to watch out for deer ticks from the deers that have been chomping on my hosts! But that's separate thread. ) After the sprinklers shut off, only the top 1/2" of the soil is wet! I'll keep at it with slow watering with garden hose.

Whenever I see chipmunk holes around any plants that I am hand watering, I always water in them. Good opportunity to get water to the roots.

That's a lot of digging, especially when I have to work under a canopy of shrubs/trees!

===>>> but it is the only way to find out about your soil .... eh???

ken

Happy to report that the shrubs and the magnolia have shed most of the yellow leaves and seem to be on their way back. I deep watered only twice, then combination of the rain fall and sprinklers seem to have been enough.
The experience led me to look into grepwater recycling, but I guess that's again a separate thread/forum.