We have 4 of these beautiful bright green shrubs in our yard and 2 of them look like they are dying (wilting) all of a sudden. The other 2 are perfect. What might be the cause? See pic attached (the shrub in question is the one on the right when looking at photo). Thank you!
How old are the plants? They look like they've been regularly sheared.
Can you take some additional images? Closeups of the leaves and how they are attached to branches is good form for ID. Your one image is a bit too distant for me to make absolute ID, but I can see opposite arrangement. I want to say Privet, but not absolutely sure of that. In northern IL, there aren't that many choices that it could be.
Take pictures from several angles, and try to take a picture of what's going on underneath the plant. Sometimes, there can be winter damage to trunks/stems by small furry animals looking for moisture, and the plant's vascular system can be compromised. Dormant buds break and try to grow, then massively collapse.
Any spills of any liquids, etc., in the vicinity - by you or by a neighbor? This is another way strange behaviors occur in plants - something being absorbed by their roots which isn't supposed to be in the soil
More information, please...
Hi ViburnumValley, thanks so much for your response! So, this is Golden Vicary privet! You were right! I've attached a few closer pics. We are in Chicago and they've lasted us 4 winters already and have been doing beautifully (until now)! We have a total of 4 and 2 of them are looking this way.
It's interesting you mentioned a liquid being thrown on them because that was my husband's first instinct. We thought perhaps our neighbors (hopefully accidentally) but what could possibly do such damage to a shrub unless done purposely???!!! We are so sad. These are our favorite because they turn this beautiful lime green color! Is there anything we can do to save them? Since we discovered this a couple weeks ago, we pruned any dead branches and have watered a lot hoping to save them.
Thanks for your attention to this! In the pics you will see a mix of healthy leaves and then the wilting, dying leaves.
You don't necessarily have to assume ill will by others. This could be from spilled gasoline or other petroleum products from landscape maintenance equipment. It could be excess de-icing chemicals from winter application, washed onto the soil by these plants. It could be drift of herbicides/pesticides applied for other plants and compromising your off-target shrubs. Hard to say from this distance.
There are certain piercing/sucking insects (aphids, etc.) that can cause cupping/twisting of new foliage like this, but those should be apparent if you examine the leaves closely.
Additional images of the trunk/stems would include or eliminate other possibilities. A chat with your neighbors (if friendly) might add clues yet unknown.
