Help save the lithodora (Grace Ward)

I have never had much luck with lithodora for some reason, yet I love it's stunning blue flowers, so keep trying it. I just started cleaning out my front bed and once again I think I may be losing this one. It's a 4 year old plant, had some good size and color to it last season. Now it's pretty much all black, with some green shoots coming from the main stems. I've cut it back severely to the new growth but I'm guessing it will just limp along this season on it's way to the compost pile. I currently have it in an eastern exposure spot, at the front of the bed, and next to a concrete side walk. My soil is good, and I mulch with compost every spring. No obvious sign of disease or bugs. I don't do a lot of watering unless it gets really hot for an extended period of time, although this bed is one of my drier areas and I may put in an irrigation system this year (if I can get my Landscape Arch. son to do this for me...). Any ideas, or special tricks you use to keep this plant healthy? Thanks.

Wow. I have it in afront bed and it's spreading. As much full sun as I get - mostly western exposure until early evening when the sun gets below the tops of trees in the forest to the west of me - and amended clay soil. I don't water it at all. I don't mulch it at all. I don't feed it at all. It seems to like the same treatment the sedum next to it is getting.

It took a year to get established and now it's gone crazy. The bed is next to a rock driveway.

If you end up needing more, I'm sure I could scare some up.

bonehead, my lithadora is in a dry south-eastern location, all day sun. it's about 6 ft wide. one thing I always do with nursery stock is wash all the soil off of the root ball and then spread the roots out, and prune any old roots that curve back toward the center. a rootbound plant is the #1 cause of them dying. one great book is The Informed Gardener by Lynda Chalker-Scott. she dispels all those garden myths;ie like don't disturb the rootball. we gardeners get a lot of bad information from nurseries, even landscape pros. that puts money in their pockets and drains ours. good luck, Jim

Bonehead, it's possible that your lithodora doesn't like being planted so close to the sidewalk. Cement can change the ph of the soil nearby due to the lime content. Even old cement can have an effect on the ph and Lithodora likes a slightly acid soil. I'm not sure what makes one hunk of cement leech into the soil and another one not. You can always test the soil if you are not sure.

That being said, you are reporting that it is pretty much all black, with new growth at the main stem. Is this plant damaged by being frozen early in the winter? That first long freeze of this winter came along when plants were still growing. Lots of plants have frost damage because of it. That's one possibility. Another possibility is that the plant has botyris, to which Lithodora is sensitive. If the soil is not meeting its requirements in terms of drainage and ph, , and you are composting too heavily perhaps, then it's going to be more susceptible to this disease. You may not overwater in the summer, but maybe the soil holds too much water in the winter?

I've had my lithodora going for about 7 years now in the same spot, but I have to say that I cut it back aggressively about twice a year. I cut it back once after it blooms, and then it will give me a few more blooms. Seems like I cut it back in the early spring, and then in the middle of the summer. This plant tends to get bare in the middle and when there are stems going back and forth over each other, the bottom ones turn black.

I would suggest you try this plant in a different spot, with either a western or southern exposure, plenty of air, good drainage, and not too much water after it is established. It's possible that it just doesn't like where it is planted for one reason or another. I believe it's very easy to start this plant from cuttings, so if you have some new growth, go for it. If not, I'm sure some of us can set you up in the spring with some new ones.

If you have new green growth, the plant is at least trying to do well for you. Maybe you can cut it way back and move it?

Thank you everyone -- I think I'll move ol' Grace to a rockery garden on my southwest side and see if she perks up. Which then opens up a new spot in the front. That's what I like most about gardening - the constant shifting and change.

I think she will be much happier there! A rockery sounds perfect for her.

BH - you might want to use some grit around the crown - she likes good drainage, lots of sun & trimmed back so she can display her gorgeous blue dainties.

FYI, a good source of a medium grit is the Special Kitty brand cat litter found only at walmart. It's in the red bag. It's fired clay with no other additives. Because it is fired, it does not absorb water to the point where it gets soft. I've been using it for years. I top all my pots of seeds with it, plant my water plants in it, and use it to amend soil for things like lavender. Works great and it's really cheap.

Thanks, I'll look for that...although the Big W is not part of my universe, so that's out. Maybe online.

Oh wow, I thought they had taken over everyone's universe! How do you escape having one on the corner down the street? Cal litter is the only reason I go there. They are the only ones I know of who have this kind. Chick grit is another alternative. Maybe you have a feed store somewhere nearby?

Pixy -- oh, I am indeed surrounded by the box stores. I just choose to not include them in my personal universe. No Wally World, no Costco. I am about 10 minutes from a small town and I try to give as much of my business to the local merchants as possible, figuring the time and gas of driving to the 'big cities' and/or 'big boxes' is just not worth my cosmic energy. Makes me grouchy.

I remember now, you were talking about the litter in a previous post. I will have to get some.

There is a product called Grani-grit - often sold at feed stores. It's cheap, but not as cheap as the cat litter.

Bonehead, I completely understand! I loathe 'wally world' and avoid it. If I had a source of grit anywhere closeby besides there,, I would take it. The feed store that is closest to me is actually not close at all, but I go there when they have the grit. I always have to call in advance because apparently they order only 1 or 2 bags at a time so I've shown up a number of times only to find they don't have it. Grrrrrr.
Kayte, I've never seen the Grani-grit. But it's probably the same as the chick grit I buy when they have it. The stuff is crushed granite. Too bad, it's also pink.

I think it goes by different names. The pink is, well, so...pink.

I know. That's really obnoxious in the garden. Nothing like a glaring pink grit underneath the nice lavenders.

I buy the Chicken or Turkey grit at our local feed store. I always wondered why the grit is pink, Jim

I think it is pink granite.

yeppers, but it's just a bit too pink.
Kathy & I visited Molbaks yesterday (30% off sale - oh yes!) & I noticed lots of what appeared to be tiny black volcanic chips used as a mulch. It would be nice to find an inexpensive source.

30% off indoor plants and containers plus an additional 10% off if you join their free frequent buyers' club. They have a huge collection of containers - it's worth the trip, IMO.

I'm late slow and Blonde. How did you get the name bonehead? Just asking I might have missed it. That is something I might call my husband or turtle.

Bonehead was our very early password to various computer programs because it aptly described our competency. When we got dial-up internet connection, we mistakenly thought the user name was a password and again used bonehead. As luck would have it, the name was not taken, so we have remained boneheads ever since. I've embraced my boneheadness and am rather fond of it actually. As an aside, my maiden name was Bloch (pronouced block) so I was a blockhead through most of my youth as well. C'est la vie...

Thanks for the explanation. I nick names a lot of people because I forget names so easily. I was nicknamed Heidelberg as a kid. Then one I hit teenage years it was H. Didn't want folks to think I was an alcoholic at a young age even though I turned out to have issues with it later Now I just have issues with plants a little less deadly than alcohol. Heidi