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help, plant dying
shiunlo
Posts: 1
I have a Hebe Mckean that's dying now.
it was always watered, but its drying up and extrtemely fragile to the touch. it started off with the tip curling up,and now its dying. The leaves and branches just breaks off when i touch it. what's happening to it? what can i do to save it?
0
Posts
Do you live in the UK? Do you always keep it indoors? The plant looks like it needs sunlight and maybe rotting around the root area as the soil base looks very dark and the lower branches are dark too. I'm intrigued, it looks more like a type of Rosemary and not a Hebe.
I think it has had too much water and needs a much more drier environment and an outdoor sunny area. If the soil is quite heavy, I recommend you re-pot it carefully and place it around a more sandier or lighter soil. Do not worry about cutting off some dead areas. If this is a Rosemary, you are not damaging it by doing that.
Hebe McKean has very narrow leaves - a bit like a rosemary.
That plant looks very unhappy. I agree , repot it in a gritty welldraining loam and give it fresh air and sunshine. However, if it's been indoors itll need protection from hof sun to start with until it's acclimatised.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi Shiunlo
Thank you for your message in which you said "I know its a hebe because I still have the tag, I only had the plant for a few months. I don't know much about plant, without the tag, I wouldn't have had a slightest clue of what this plant is. So, if it is a hebe should I still repot?"
It is a plant best suited to growing outside in the garden - it will not be happy in the house ... it is often used in rock gardens ... I would repot it into a bigger pot ... at least twice the diameter of the one that it's in ... using a loamy compost with lots of grit to make it drain freely.
Then put it into a sheltered spot outside. Only water when the compost an inch below the surface is dry ... to check this stick your finger into the compost up to the first joint ... it's a good way to test. Stop when the water runs out of the bottom of the pot and then let the water drain out ... don't water again until it's dry with the Finger Test.
I hope that will help your plant recover.
Good luck
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Shuinlo, never meant to throw you off scent with mentioning Rosemary, and I appreciate you sending me a message with the plant tag and where you live, because my comments may have alarmed you. I have sent my message back to you with detailed information on how to get the sad looking Hebe back to life. Good luck, I hope it will recover very soon.