Ailing Rhodo and Laurel - Doctor Needed!!!

That is an amazing amount of trouble in one bed! Certainly tunneling mice and voles can cause substantial root damage. Spiders are no big deal and I don't think you have a Biblical plague of locusts either. LOL My money is on the common fungus biggies to which both plants are susceptible. Carefully prune out all dead or dying branches being careful to disinfect the pruners between cuts. Dispose of all infected material off site through waste removal. Sanitation is extremely improtant. Spray with Mancozeb. Consider disposing of the current mulch and replacing it with new mulch. You might also want to take a peak under the landscape fabric to check on the soil saturation level. Keep working to improve the tilth and drainage of the soil by adding compost and/or using organic fertilizer. Get your soil test results and make the necessary corrections, if any. When you drop off your soil sample inquire about bringing in a sample of the infected material for a diagnosis. Actually having a pair of knowledgeable eyeballs on a dying branch is priceless.

Just an update. I couldn't find any Mancozeb locally, so i've ordered some from the web and am waiting for it. I removed all of the mulch from the back section of the bed as well as the fabric.

Whoa! That's a lot of work. You're determined. The results of the soil test will help with deciding what else needs to be done.

That's funny snapple, my mother used to describe my style of gait as a toddler as "the determination shuffle". I used several bags of the bad mulch to stuff on top of the Groundhog den when I gassed them last night!!!

Wow, it's seems like a bad year for the broadleaf evergreens, or a good year for the bugs & fungi, or both?!
On our mountain laurel pictured above, we did cut out the bad, infected/infested one. Loads of healty new growth on the remaining one.

I also have an azalea that suddenly wilted and is looking very bad. I remembered reading somewhere that overwatering could be a problem. (More like over-raining here....groan!) I pulled it up, set it in a bucket of clean water while I dug the hole deeper & wider, added some rocks 2 or 3 inches below where the roots would be; mixed sphagnum peat moss in with the removed dirt; kneaded the root ball (still shaped like the pot it came in 1 1/2 year ago) and dusted it with a little Rootone; finally replanted it a little higher than it was before. Now it's just wait & see if it will recover.

In reference to another post above: I used Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect control last year on the advice of our extension agent to fight azalea leaf miner in my rhodie. Apparently worked like a charm, because no further sign of leaf miners & bloomed like a champ this year.

Just a note:
We lost over 200 rhodo's this year
that includes azaleas and kalmias, laurels, dogwoods.

I thought it was due to the thawing and sub freezing blizzard
winds we had all winter causing severe frost damage.
Thaw and freeze cycles, coupled with icy rains destroyed
root structures close to the ground. Hence, some trees
lost half of a tree and had a viable offshoot stem.

I am sorry to say it, but I do have to respect it, Natures pruning
methods sometimes are a bit rough on my soul.

I miss my rhoadies so much.

sheri

Wow, Sheri, That's an incredible loss. I hope your getting over it. I'd be heart broken every time I went outside. Have you been replanting?

That is a huge loss!! (For some reason the alternate freeze/thaw cycles we had here this spring ko'd nearly all the grasses in the Carex family. Stuff I've had for years just upped an died.)

There is a Bayer Advanced product tailor made for Azaleas, Camelia's and Rhododendrons. It is supposed to control for both diseases and insects. I'm trying it this year and so far I'm not impressed. I have a mildew problem on some azaleas and it has returned in spite of using this product exactly according to directions. It has controlled the thrips I get every year on the evergreen azaleas though. One other thing about this product is that on Bayer's own web site it recommends using their rose care product on Rhodies instead of the Rhodie product. It's confusing. If either product is to work best it must be applied in the very early spring before problems start.

http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/Dual-Protection-Azalea-Insect-Disease-Control/

Sheri, The enormity of your loss continues to overwhelm me. Today on Snow Pond Farm's website (sorry I still haven't mastered that link thing), I read about a foliar spray called Wilt-Pruf. It's supposed to be a season long protectant against winter kill. Seems like a must have for anyone in the cooler zones.

Snapple, they also had a lot of different fungficides, including one they considered a "fix-all"

hmm. I'll check it out.

From what I've learned when I nearly lost two azaleas in '06 winter, Wilt-Pruf is to prevent winter burn on broadleaf evergreens, which is caused by harsh winds drying out the leaves while the ground is frozen & the roots can't take up water. It coats the leaves to seal in moisture, and washes off in spring rains.

Cheryl, Have you tried the Wilt-Pruf? Their website is very descriptive, listing all of the plantings for which it's recommended. It's also to be used to prevent transplant shock and summer heat stress. It is also for use on conifers except they make special cautions when using it on Arborvitae.

I will use the wilt pruf. going to fire up our sprayers and pretest them now.

Thank you for the help.
We have managed to save about 3 rhoadies and some az are in pots, but
no growth since repotting. I fear they are truly truly dead, like the wicked
witch of the west.

I believe that if the rhoadies were older, then the freeze thaw would have
affected the outside limbs and not the inner branches and trunks. There
is protection amongst all of that.

Starting a new farm with tree plantings is incredibly difficult.
gotta go, I am on library computer and my time is limited.
sher

Snapple, I did use the Mancozeb on the Laurel and Rhodo. The Mancozeb took so long to get here, it may be to late for the Rhodo. But the Laurel looks like it may make it.

When I visited the local nursery last week the owner, who normally only stocks organic products, told me that he had ordered some Mancozeb because of so many requests this year. Maybe all of this disease is tied to the warm winter and cool wet spring & summer.

It is so wet & humid here now. I just got a massive infestation of green June Bug Beetle.
Our co-op extension had never heard of them in this area. Manhattan & the Bronx have them in all of the Botanical Gardens & golf courses and have never seen them before.

Snapple, my extension agent sent me to the Ohio website to learn about treatment!

Oh for Heaven's sake! Well, all the Cooperative Extension Offices and Agents share all their knowledge. Some have done extensive research in certain areas and there is no need to duplicate that. The local office here uses every reseach based Fact Sheet applicable, regardless of origin. That's why I became a Master Gardener. Cooperative Extension has the most up to date research based body of hortculture information on the planet and it is generously available to any interested party at minimal cost and mostly for free.

Green June Bugs ( Cotinis nitida) and Brown June Bugs ( Phyllophaga rugosa) have similar but not identical life cycles. I dont think I've ever seen a Green. We have plenty of the Brown variety. Both are a problem. Could you possibly get any other plague?

About the Mancozeb - It has been in use a long time and for what it does, it is less toxic than other fungicides. Don't give up the Rhodie. Keep it sprayed and keep working on any drainage or air circulation issues as well as renewing the mulch. With all that humidity and wetness it's a perfect setup to foster fungus infections. Next spring your plan of action should be preventative - spray right at bud break and maintain a spray program. Every year here I have to spray for powdery mildew on the decidous azaleas. I hate it, but if I want them that's what I have to do. This year has been particularly bad. Monday we had an 1" of rain in 20 min. That was followed by an all day light shower and then another 1/2" ovenight. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and the next day. You're not the only one, unfortunately.

Another effective fungicide is Chlorothalonil, trade name Daconil. It covers a wider range of fungus infections but it also carries with it greater toxicity. I have resorted to using it to save a tree peony with blight that was not responding to Mancozeb as well I would have liked. I waited way too long before I started with the Mancozeb. Dumb. I knew better.

Thanks, Snapple, I did spray some other plants with it. I am going to start keeping records on the spraying. The green bugs ate holes the size of quarters and half dollars in the 6 new rhodos!!!!! The voles have been muching the bottoms of all of the shrubs. The grasshoppers are following me into the garage. This month's groundhog has been gassed!!!

I've been busy putting down Milky Spore and ditonomous? earth. Right now the nematodes are living in the fridge!!!! I'm on my 4th bag of vole poison and have been keeping the squirrels and rabbits away with snake repellent. My garage looks like a Dupont chemical storage facility.

It sure would be nice to have time to plant something!!! Last night the ground in my large flower bed collapsed right after the voles chewed my red twig dogwood roots to death. They had been using the groundhog's tunnels for runs. Part of the Eumonymous is now sitting in a crater 2' wide and 18" deep.But what did they do with all of the dirt??? I need it to fill the holes Gardening is so much fun!!!

Yikes! When you get all this stuff under control I think you ought to enter the Master Gardener progam. You've certainly got the will and passion to garden and all that experienced gained, when shared, is invaluable to others. Please consider it.

Thanks, Snapple, it certainly is a learning experience! I may consider it The people on Dg have certainly been wonderful about helping me. I'm always amazed at the great and simple solutions that the appalachian people offer. They build and maintain fabulous gardens out of nothing!!!

Snapple, Just an update. The Rhodo looks like a goner. I'm not really sure. The Laurel is struggling to survive. My soil was very deficient in Iron. I added Green Sand to the bed. Most of my Rhodos, Azaleas, Hydrangea and Laurels started getting very chlorotic after all of the weeks of rain, so they all got the Green Sand treatment. I also have an Iron foliar spray that I may apply soon.

As I've been planting new shrubs in these families, I've been planting them in wire cages that I've made to vole proof them. The June Bugs ate giant holes in the Rhodos leaves, big as quarters, but they still seem to be doing well.

Do you use Messenger? I may try it on them. I also read that fish emulsion can cure lots of plant ails. Have you used it?

Cheryl, if you're still watching, I'd be interested to hear how your Laurel is doing.

Stormyla,
Thanks for asking. Unfortunately, we lost that half of the Laurel, but the other half seemed to really take off once we cut out the affected part. Lots of new growth. But now some of that new growth has little rusty spots (see photo.) The started off just as little lighter-colored specks, and I thought maybe it was because these leaves were suddenly getting more sun than they were used to, since the part we had to cut out was in front of them.

I've been dealing with so many shrub problems this year, my head is swimming trying to diagnose everything. I seriously need a tree doctor!

Cheryl, SO Sorry. Don't you just hate to see new growth become ill! That looks a lot like what's been happening to my PEEGee Hydrangea. Time to spray something else I suppose. It takes a lot of reading. Some of the fungicides are for preventative use and some are to treat a shrub in distress. I've been trying several different ones this summer. This weather has certainly been a breeding ground for fungi. Good luck with that beautiful Laurel.

Just got home form a short ( too short) computerless vacation. Stormla it sounds as though you are getting a modest payback on your considerable efforts in sorting out the problems. I've never used Messenger, but all those who have posted here on other forums have had good experiences with it. I've been meaning to try it myself. Correcting the iron deficiency will give the plants a big, big boost. Protecting the major roots from voles is also an excellent strategy (and a lot of work).

It has been the summer here for fungus diseases too. I'm overwhemled with a spraying schedule to keep them at bay. Suffering the most are the deciduous azaleas, followed by the hydrangeas. I have never in all may years had to watch so closely and spray just on schedule like this year. It's a pain in the neck. Add to that a Japanese Maple "Butterfly" that looks like it nearly died from a heat spell while we were gone, inspite of watering thoroughly before we left, and a 15 yr old Magnolia with girdling roots, and I can't say my summer gardening has been exactly a breeze! Also the lawn service blitzed a new conifer with broadleaf weed killer and then my darling little yorki/poodle finished it off by using it for a fire hydrant. So, I might have some holes to fill in my landscape that I did not anticipate.

Snapple, I am going to look for a replacement for the Rhodo. I've recently planted a number of new small Laurels and Azaleas and Rhodos. They all had green sand mixed in the soil. Now I am going to spray them with the WiltPruf. Some are suffering. I've read a lot about the benefits of Mycorrhiza. I'm thinking of introducing some around all of their roots. Have you used any? Do you use any fish based fertilizer?

Yes to the Mycorrihiza. I've used it as a soil ammendment for all new plantings for about the last three years. There is a lot of conjecture but not much real trialed evidence about mycorrihiza and the benefits. One of the instructors in Master Gardener class ( an OSU professor) recently wrote a paper on the subject which hasn't yet been peer reviewed and published. His take in class was "It can't hurt." Until the paper is peer reviewed he choose to remain noncommittal.

As for fish based fertilizer I've never bought any - but - when I have a plant in trouble I water it for a while with pond water. I just dip the watering can in pond to fill it. I can say for certain that the plants do really well when watered with pond water. Well enough to make me think fish based fertilizer might be something worth trying.

Thanks, Snapple. I read that Ericoid Mycorrhiza is the type to use for Rhodos. Do you use more than one kind? In what form do you buy it?

The problem with mycorrhiza is its specifity. Different plants = different mychorrhiza. You don't really know if the type of mycorrhiza has been well enough identifed to be beneficial to a specific plant. I think the companies that are are blending it in with their fertilizers are using a shot gun approach.

http://www.drearth.net/products/blended/

For the above see Organic #4


http://www.espoma.com/content.aspx?type=p&id=37&intCategoryID=2


This message was edited Aug 28, 2008 10:28 AM

Thanks, Snapple, I've actually been using the Bio-tone Starter on everything I plant. But, I may start using it on already planted items too. It gets rave reviews everywhere.