Daphne problem

Anyone have an idea why my daphne odora is developing yellow foliage? It was planted in February, already has some nice new growth, but in the last week some leaves have turned yellow. I know daphnes can be difficult, and would like to correct the problem before it becomes a disaster. Thanks for any help!

I'll tell you what 'Sunset Western Garden Book' (5th printing - June 1997) says:

Daphne odora:
needs much air around its roots, so plant in porous soil. Dig planting hole twice as wide a sroot ball and 1 1/2 times as deep. refill with 1 part soil, 1 part fine sand, 2 parts ground bark. To create ideal drainage: before refilling hole, drill through bottom until you hit a better-draining sil layer. Refill that chimney with mixture, too. Set top ot root ball higher than soil surface. If you grow iit in a container, usse the same mix...Plant this daphne where it can get at least 3 hours of shade a day. If possible, shade soil around roots with living ground cover. A pH of 7.0 is right for it . Feed right after bloom with complete fertilizer but not acid plant food. During Dry season, water as infrequently as plant will allow. Little or no water in summer increases flowering next spring and helps prevent death from water molds.

Dax

Thanks, Dax, that gives me lots to ponder. The planting was pretty much on target, except that here you'd have to drill to China to find better drainage; the soil is basically compacted clay. I always start from scratch to give the plants the soil they need, plus of course punching lots of holes in the surrounding clay to allow drainage. I'll have to test the soil; the ph may be a bit too low. And as for dry summers, we have monsoon season here in June and July, so perhaps it's getting too much water. Little I can do about that, unfortunately...

sand + clay = problem (compaction, "concrete-like")

standing water = "yellowing"

You'll have a dead plant soon if it keeps raining (or some other time) - a bigger hole with a different ammendment to substitute the sand will be needed and you may still want to drill as far as you can anyway. That's a lot of work for one plant but if you think you'll need to do such extremes again, all those items are a good investment.

That's how I see it -

Dax

Daphne's tend to be quite touchy--you can even have one that's looking great for a long time and all of a sudden it'll die on you for no apparent reason. If you have poor drainage and lots of water that'll kill it for sure. If you like the scent but want something that might do better for you, you could try Viburnum carlesii, I thought the two smelled somewhat similar.

Thanks much to both of you for the input. I skipped the sand in planting the daphne, knowing it can be a problem with a clay surround: used basically a mix of topsoil with humus and compost, plus lots of fine pine bark mulch (aka "soil conditioner") for drainage. If the plant crashes, I may try the v. carlesii - sounds great - but I'm still hoping the daphne will survive. It rained again for a couple hours tonight: had I known daphnes prefer dry summers, I'd definitely not have tried it!

Place some "soil perfector" around the roots..Dirr says any mulch is the kiss of death.

Didn't Dirr also compare Daphne culture to voodoo? Perhaps a trip to Haiti is in order.

Have you tried this:

"The ceremony begins with a Roman Catholic prayer. Then three drummers begin to play syncopated rhythms. The attendees begin to dance around a tree [daphne, etc.] in the center of the yard, moving faster and harder with the rising pulse of the beat. The priest draws sacred symbols in the dust with cornmeal, and rum is poured on the ground to honor the spirits... "

Dirr's information for Metasequoia cuttings STILL Tees me off! Two years in a row - nothing!

From now on it's semi-hardwood cuttings in June and July under fluorescents and bagged for a month or two or simply graft the dang things (in winter).

ok -

Dax

What is soil perfector, levilya? Not familiar with the term.

And yes, Maackia, I was very struck by Dirr's comparison of dapne culture to voodoo; of course, I discovered it AFTER I planted the daphne (Murphy's Law #42). Love your suggested ceremony; might not do much for the plant, but it would make me feel much better!

And again, thanks to everyone for the ideas; I'm willing to try most anything except transplanting, since everything indicates that's a sure kiss of doom for daphne.

http://www.espoma.com/content.aspx?type=sp

Thanks levilyla.

...just like gypsum pellets for turf or very similar:)

Dax

Thanks from me, too, levilyla; the soil perfector sounds like a good plan, and is something I can try without disturbing the plant.

I have heard that if any plant is not doing well for some reason or other ..place it around stones. (or stones around it)

Fascinating: any idea of the reasoning behind it?

A very knowledgeable lady who owns a nursery near here told me that....I am guessing it just helps with drainage, keeps criitters away (like slugs), keeps stems from coming in contact with constant moisture from mulch etc. For instance Maidenhair fern does much better planted in a stoney wall..maybe also makes the soil less acid...Just guessing.

Dax,

I'm against any voodoo ceremony that includes pouring rum on the ground.

Speaking of voodoo, let's talk about Soil Perfector! Actually the stuff can be purchased in bigger bags much cheaper as "Turface." It is the same fired clay containing millions of tiny pores. It is excellent stuff, especially for inclusion in container mixes, because it holds water and yet drains extremely well.

In garden soil, especially clay, unless the bed is raised and a lot of similarly coarse materials are included, it is of not much use, since the much smaller clay particles will fill in around the Turface particles and even, perhaps, fill in or block the pores.

The Arrowhead Alpines catalog has a very interesting little piece on growing daphnes in which they dispute Dirr's advice. Basically, they say that root rots are the bane of daphnes, so, raise your beds, make the soil porous, do not mulch (or mulch with gravel), and allow the beds to dry out.

Scott

I'm sure your advice was well appreciated Scott.

Maybe me mind - will remember Arrowhead Alpines suggestions next time.

Lots of products out there - I'm ashamed to tell folks here about my soil and even at that, a Daphne croaked after four years. They sure are tempermental buggers>

Dax

I agree ..I think Daphnes just die when they want to and for no apparent reason. glad to know about the turface!

Does anyone have a really old Daphne? Mine are in that four year range and now y'all have me worried they're reaching the end. I'll probably have a dream tonight they die right in front of me as I'm standing there admiring the healthy, beautiful foliage. Kind of like a Wes Craven horror movie--The Daphne's Have Eyes.

I had three caucasicas...two died the first year and I had the other one for about ten years...then it just up and died. I plan to get another one because I love them .... blooming from May and then sporatically into October. I think they like a neutral soil like box.

Mine are in acidic, but very well drained soil. Acidity might have been altered towards neutal since they are near foundation wall on east side of house. I never fertilize, prune or water overhead. Actually, I only water when we are in drought conditions--like now! I think protection from elements (i.e. eastside planting) and perfect drainage are paramount.

Mine was East Facing and in Perfect soil.

Check out what I lost ('Carol Mackie') (Photo: May 2004)
One branch died, I had a hole. Then week after week another main branch would show shriveled foliage, until soon the entire plant was brittle and without life.

Dax

Dax,

That looks like the oldest/largest of the three CM's I've got. Is that a male dog? Mmmm... OK, I have no idea what killed your CM, but I can certainly sympathize. Do you suppose the presence of concrete steps, walkways and other hardscape materials could possibly have contributed to its demise? What did the roots look like when you pulled it out?

I left a 'Somerset' at my old house that was 6 years there, and had been grown in a root bag for many years before that. Still blooming strong this spring. I love the whole Daphne bunch. Arrowhead Alpines is the place, even though you get very small plants. I plunk them in the ground and off they go--very fast growing. Their 'Silveredge' is an awesome performer. I left one of those at my old house too, but planted two here this spring.

Conifers../the lab is more beautiful than the daphne

I have a ten year old D odora Alba - to me this is "really old." It started to die off five years ago, one branch at a time. I dug it up and found that the roots were growing in a tight coil (is this what they call "girdling root"?) Anyway, I carefully unwound the roots and replanted it in a much bigger hole. It recovered and is still going strong. I start new plants from hardwood cuttings every couple years just in case. I have to wrap it in burlap every winter if I want it to bloom because otherwise the buds turn black and fall off. It has the most wonderful fragrance - smells like a lemon-gardenia mix.

edited for poor spelling and punctuation

This message was edited Jul 28, 2006 10:55 PM

Thanks for all the input, folks; I'll do my best for this little daphne. At least if it croaks, I'll be a bit consoled by the fact that they really do deserve their reputation for sudden death - and I've gots of lots of far-more-experienced company (lol).

Thanks - I'll tell my boy "Onyx" he's a good lookin' cat!

Yep - as each branch died, and soon the entire top of the plant was dead, I thought I'd attempt to simply pull it out of the ground and I did. The roots and all had died in a matter of a month or whatever it was. The thing came up as easy as butter.

Good luck EVERYBODY with your Daphnes - they're beautiful plants of course!

Dax

Hope this isn't too late to reply. But being from NZ where Daphne's are much more common but no less "picky" I would like to note that of all the Daphne's I grew back home (I now live in Philadelphia - and have only just found a source!) they actually need a lot of shelter from the wind/heat and much more water than you might think.
I have found that mine did best in a sheltered location with quite a lot of water (don't interfere with the natural 'run-off'/or make it too 'boggy'). Shelter, Shelter, Shelter - more shade than sun...as I write I am remembering having to move it a couple of times until it was almost under my deck stairs with about 4 hours of direct sun a day. Once it was in the right location - it just went wild and flowered like crazy! The point of these shrubs is the flowers not the size - but once you have them in the right spot - you'll get both.
But treat them with kid gloves - they really can be a little picky until established! - Don't take it personally. They are absolutely worth the effort. And one of the reasons I began gardening! My Dad had the biggest Daphne I have yet to see growing in our yard - the scent was heavenly! My limited experience is that once established - they are pretty hard to kill! Hope this helps.
Oops almost forgot something - don't spray them heavily with anything too when trying to establish them - they might turn up their toes! Manure/Compost is great - early in the season.
If you get it to flower and grow - don't mess with it! It is happy!
Hope this isn't too vauge.
Justine

Thanks so much, jusamby; your advice is certainly not too vague, but does go against everything I've read that says one should Never move a daphne! But hey, both you and your father have been successful with it, so clearly the plants approve of what you're doing. I haven't used any sprays on the daphne (haven't seen any pests, thank goodness). We have no true direct sunlight on this property; even the brightest spots have dappled shade from very old, very tall pines and oaks for at least a part of the day. The daphne's current spot gets its most direct light first thing in the morning; even then it is a bit dappled by the pines at the edge of the property. From about 10 - 11 am on, it's in dappled part shade from the closer oaks. I was worried that perhaps the yellowing leaves indicated it was getting too MUCH water, but your experience makes me question that. I've ordered the "soil perfector" mentioned by an earlier response from a local nursery, and will trench that outside the drip line in hopes of improving drainage without disturbing the plant. Based on your experience, if it should prove necessary to move the plant, should I move it toward more or less sunglight?

Great advice!

spartacus - Treat them like rhododendrons - dappled light, eastern exposure, (sheltered).

Take care and thanks again for that wonderful info.

Dax

Well, the location should be okay: they have eastern exposure and dappled light. I'll work on the drainage and hope for the best. Thanks again to all!