Is this dying?

I transplanted this 4-5 ft. viburnum early spring. Dug it up just before it bloomed. Probably not the best time, but it was one of those"take it now or never" situations. It eventually recovered and put out some, not a lot, of new growth. Now some of its leaves are turning brown and looks real droopy. I have been watering regularly, trust me I'm not over watering. Is it because we are in a severe drought and it's starting to lose it's leaves early? Haven't had any measurable rain since 4th of July. Or is it on it's way out? I cannot tell you what kind it is because I haven't seen a bloom yet. Hope someone can help. Thanks in advance.

Melanie

The leaves that are still green look a bit wilted to me, which makes me think it's a watering issue, not just losing its leaves early. If you're having a severe drought, it's quite possible it's not getting enough water (particularly if the weather's been hot too). Even though it got through its initial transplant shock, anything that's fairly recently planted is going to need more water than something that's been in the ground for a couple years, so my guess would be that it's thirsty.

Sort of looks like Mohican - I know they like water. I would say to water it a little more until cooler and wetter weather.

That guy needs some water. Water it a couple of days in a row and see if it comes back to life.

Thanks everyone I'm going to put the soaker hose on it today and give it a good watering. I'll try to do that for the next few days. I'll report back to let you know what is happening. Pray for me that we start getting some rain. It is just unbelievable how dry it is at our house. The only good is we haven't had to mow our lawn.

I wonder if the leaves are really wilted now, or if they have just taken on that permanent look. Often plants that are wilted for long periods, especially in a growth stage, will just harden (or stay) that way. Although the plant recovers, and leaves become turgid and firm, the form and aspect of the leaves do not return.

Hairy type viburnums always have a somewhat dull look to them, which is another indication of wilting, but I think I might expect an even more dull look if they are really wilted.

So the question is: how do they feel? If they are firm and not limpish, my humble diagnosis is that there is nothing wrong with the plant, except that it hasn't grown much. That might be due to you hot dry conditions. Other than that, your plant could be just fine.

True. To much sun and no rain can lead to hard burnt leaves that won't come back with watering.

leftwood,

it looks somewhat depressed. could be an after affect of an anxitey disorder. or if it's growing on postal grounds= it could be post traumatic stress.
maybe some sort of desensitizing therapy would be helpful?????

or just move out of the federal sector.

is it planted too deep????

maybe it wants more shade and time.....

maybe prozac,,,,,

ln

I understand your frustration. This summer weather was also very challenging in my area due to the excessive heat & drought conditions.

I just noticed this past week that my well established virburnum has some brown leaves on one branch. My area has also experienced extreme heat & drought going for weeks with no rain & temps near or over 100. This virburnum has been growing in the same spot for years and has always been healthy.

I lost half of the healthy qt. sized shrubs that I planted last spring due to the heat, I believe. I watered these shrubs regularly & they were well mulched. I read that immature root systems can't supply enough water to the leaves because of rapid evaporation during extremely hot spells, so the leaves dry out. You think that you're not watering enough & end up drowning the roots. I believe that this is what has happened to my new shrubs. The ones that made it are drought tolerant. Even some drought tolerant plants succumbed to the heat. Next year, I'm going with larger potted plants having more mature root systems. It's worth the extra $$ in the long run. I replaced some of these shrubs already with gallon sized plants in the middle of the drought season, & they faired well....even the Annabelle hydrangea held its blooms after planting it in the sweltering July heat--purchased locally from Cottage Gardens. I ordered from Mo Wildflower a witch hazel (hamamelis vernalis) which stayed a lovely green after planting it during the worst heat spell (temps reached or exceeded 100 the week that I planted it). I mulched & kept it watered & shaded it on one side with newspaper. Another Mo WF shrub, 1 gallon buttonbush (cephalanthus occidentalis) was planted same time as witch hazel & loves wet feet. It's still thriving because I made a well around it & mulched with a very thick layer of newspaper. I would just keep the "well" filled with water because I didn't have to worry about drowning this plant.

I hope that your virburnum makes it! Today, we finally dropped into the upper 80s & clouded up for a short time, but still no rain. Just drying winds.

Hi everyone: Thank you for your comments.

Leftwood, In answer to your question about the texture of the leaves. They feel firm and soft. Not like a plant that is hurting for water. Since I didn't pay much attention to what they were like when I first dug it up, I have nothing to compare them to. I put the soaker hose on it for several hours and have noticed no change in the leaves. As I said before it was looking pretty darn good there for a while. Now brown spots are showing up and some of them are completely brown. I have noticed that some of the other trees (not vibrunums) have a few brown leaves too. Are Viburnums deciduous?

Mine is decidious.

Firm and soft is a good thing. When whole twigs or branches go, it's usually either mechanical damage (like the twig cracked) or a wilt problem, in which case there is no pesticide treatement for. IMO, I wouldn't worry.

I'd say most viburnums are deciduous, at least where I am. There are some that are evergreen, and that's about all I know. As you might expect and in general, the thicker leaved species tend to be more evergreen or semi-evergreen. What they are supposed to do in their native haunts, I don't know. Yours looks like one that would be deciduous here, but hold the leaves into the first snowfalls. I don't know what it would nomally do down there.

Did you have a name for it, other than viburnum?

Here's my virburnum. Look familiar?

[HYPERLINK@davesgarden.com]

My virburnum suffered a severe setback in Spring 2006 when a severe thunderstorm with 60 mph northwesterly straightline winds knocked down my 25' crabapple tree that fell flat ontop of it. The virburnum survived, but had to be severly pruned. It's still a long ways from making a complete recovery. (The crabapple tree sent up a sucker replacement.)

Leftwood: I read your info. (Your username made me curious.) I'm a lefty too. So is my younger daughter, mother, maternal gr-mother, youngest sister, & 3 nephews. It seems to run in my family.

I'm very impressed by your credentials & hoping to hear more from you.

I too read your credentials Leftwood and I am also impressed. No I can't give you name for my viburnum. I dug it up from an abandoned nursery that was about to be razed.

Greenbrain: Your link wouldn't work. Can you try again please?

Greenbrain, I think you tried to copy and past that hyperlink from another DG hyperlink? Doesn't work. You have to copy the URL (the "http:// . . . .), and paste that.

Thank, both of you, for the compliment. I forgot to add true lilies to my list of special interests. There is a reason for the "wood" part in my name too. And, can you believe, there is a guy on Yahoo that has the same name?

Sorry, I thought that was wrong, but was in a big hurry to finish up. Here it is again.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/53591/

I believe that I got it this time! Happy Labor Day! : )

Well everyone, my Viburnum made it through the harsh, drought ridden summer, the winter and it is now blooming. Can anyone help me identify it? Here is a picture.

melsalz:

Your viburnum is certainly one of the leatherleaf types, of which there are quite a few that could reside in NC. Take some more pictures of the whole plant, of stems, and of leaves from a little further back.

From the original forlorn picture last summer, I'd have said Viburnum lantana too. Your new picture has me leaning more toward Viburnum rhytidophyllum, or maybe one of the Viburnum x rhytidophylloides clan.

We'll wait patiently for more pics.

Not V. rhytidophyllum. I'm not familiar with V. x rhytidophylloides but that is possible.

Resin

ViburnumValley: I've been very busy. I'll get those extra pics soon.

Viburnum Davidi common to the seattle area. It was stressed and now is happy. Phosphorous for the roots.

I'm back!! Finally managed to snap a couple of pictures. I dunno about the Viburnum Davidi, its leaves look waxy, mine are kind of fuzzy.

From your last photo, it looks like Viburnum x rhytidophylloides to me. I'm sure the good VV will chime in with his Viburnum wisdom and give a more definitive answer.

Kman, that looks more like it. I'm pretty sure you got it right. Thanks. Anyone else want to agree?

I can agree with the Viburnum x rhytidophylloides assessment. You probably have 'Alleghany' (or 'Allegheny' depending on who is typing); that's the most commonly produced of the hybrid leatherleaf viburnums. 'Willowwood' is another, but not sold as often.

I grow V. r. 'Willowood'. It does look like a x rhytidophylloides. Here in Minnesota, every year, with the same crop of flower buds produced in the summer, it blooms some in the fall and the rest in the spring.