Help! I have a sick duranta erecta

One of my favorite plants is a duranta erecta Havana Gold which has taken three years to become a plump shrub. Suddenly, however, one section died. And now it looks leggy whereas before it was full and leafy all the way to the ground. I found one leaf which looked like it had powdery mildew on the back, and then I found several others that either have mildew or mealy bugs, can't tell which for sure. Whichever it is, it doesn't seem to be all over the plant, just here and there. Any ideas as to what might be causing this problem and, more important, any suggestions to cure whatever it is? This pretty shrub is the highlight of one section of my garden, and I'd really hate to lose it.

Thanks for any help out there.

After searching here and there .. I couldn't come up with anything that said they were prone to disease and insect damage. I did find however, that you can prune them back to the ground and they will come back bigger and better. Check it out in the plant files and read all the notes .. even contact some of the people who grow it.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=duranta&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=erecta&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bblank_cultivar%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=both&Search=Search

In my experience with plants, when only half of it dies, its usually because root damage or disturbance. You might want to consider cutting it back since its Fall and letting it start over again.

X

Thanks for the suggestions, X. I'll try cutting it back, but I don't know if I can bring myself to cut it down to ground level! It took it a long time to get this big, and here in Central FL it looks good all winter.

Too much water?....durantas are pretty tough ....are you being too kind to it?

No, this poor baby has been through two years of drought and stood up to it very well. Btw, last summer it had one cluster of blooms; this year it had about 10. I have other types of durantas that bloom profusely and are also very drought tolerant.

BivBiv, is your duranta in the ground or is it in a pot? RJuddHarrison (Randy) told me earlier this year that they love to be root bound, and won't put out many blooms without being rootbound. I bought mine in 2006, cut it way back in the fall, and this spring parked it in the ground. My plant grew and grew, but wasn't blooming. When Randy told me that, I dug it up and parked it in a goodsize pot. It's been blooming like crazy ever since. The good thing about it being in a pot is that It will make it easier to overwinter it. I do plan on cutting it back though because it's twice as big as last year when I bought it.

Unfortunately, I don't know what to tell you about the problems you are having, since I haven't encountered any of that with my own.

Good Luck!

Janet

It's in the ground and has no need for overwintering in this area. Tomorrow I'm going to put some cornmeal in the ground around it in case it's some kind of root problem. Actually, I don't care if it blooms or not because I love it for its chartreuse foliage, with or without flowers.

Thanks, Janet.