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Recently planted Viburnum bodnantense 'Charles Lamont' seems unhappy.
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Posts: 6
Good morning,
I'm new to the forum and fairly new to gardening, but I'm hoping I managed to pick up some basics from various sources over the years - including my parents who were keen gardeners.
A bit of background - I'm trying to establish a new south west facing border, after we removed a very dull conifer hedge a couple of years ago. I planted five shrubs, evenly spaced down the length of the border about three weeks ago (various varieties of viburnum or lilac). These all seem to be doing well so far- apart from the Viburnum bodnantense, which is the shrub closest to the house. As you can see from the photo, its looking very sad and wilty.
Being SW facing it gets full sun for at least half the day this time of year and we've had a few sunny hot days recently so I've been watering well every other/3rd day. Soil is a mixture of neutral sandy top soil and compost, with sandy subsoil. Drainage is good.
I gave it a good dousing yesterday but it doesn't seem any happier this morning. One minor thing is there were a couple of low branches that seemed to be dead so I trimmed those back to live tissue yesterday. The mint either side keeps coming up on its own accord each year. I haven't worked out what to do with that yet - if anything! Could this be interfering?
Do you think I should be worried? Is it just settling into its new home? Any thoughts/advice on how to revive this poor thing before it gives up on me would be very welcome - as would any criticism if I've done something daft - thanks for reading.
I'm new to the forum and fairly new to gardening, but I'm hoping I managed to pick up some basics from various sources over the years - including my parents who were keen gardeners.
A bit of background - I'm trying to establish a new south west facing border, after we removed a very dull conifer hedge a couple of years ago. I planted five shrubs, evenly spaced down the length of the border about three weeks ago (various varieties of viburnum or lilac). These all seem to be doing well so far- apart from the Viburnum bodnantense, which is the shrub closest to the house. As you can see from the photo, its looking very sad and wilty.
Being SW facing it gets full sun for at least half the day this time of year and we've had a few sunny hot days recently so I've been watering well every other/3rd day. Soil is a mixture of neutral sandy top soil and compost, with sandy subsoil. Drainage is good.
I gave it a good dousing yesterday but it doesn't seem any happier this morning. One minor thing is there were a couple of low branches that seemed to be dead so I trimmed those back to live tissue yesterday. The mint either side keeps coming up on its own accord each year. I haven't worked out what to do with that yet - if anything! Could this be interfering?
Do you think I should be worried? Is it just settling into its new home? Any thoughts/advice on how to revive this poor thing before it gives up on me would be very welcome - as would any criticism if I've done something daft - thanks for reading.
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I think it's early days ... its roots are working hard to establish ... I wouldm't worry too much but keep an eye on it ... how much water are you giving it? I'd give it a bucketful twice a week, which sounds as if that's what you're doing. I think it's just a matter of time ... the hot spell made some extra demands on it before it was really ready but it'll be fine once it gets its roots established.
Enjoy
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thats really good to hear - especially as you have the same variety.. I was hoping it was just needing to find its feet, but the fact the others seemed to be doing so well worried me.
I've been giving each of the shrubs a full sized plastic watering can of water every 2 or 3 days. I'll have to check to see how it compares to a bucket in volume.. but I guess its similar. I try to time watering to after or just before a dry day and avoid days with any showers.
Thanks again for your reply - there is hope
ps: great to hear you enjoy your bodnantense - I'm really looking forward to this border hopefully filling out nicely in a couple of springs..
By the way, could that 'mint' be Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) rather than mint?
https://www.hettysherbs.co.uk/product/balm-lemon/?attribute_pa_amount=3-x-9cm-potted-plants&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgNrcpraH2wIVbRHTCh21MwOaEAQYAiABEgIDS_D_BwE
Rub the leaves ... you should get a lemony scent if it is ... makes a lovely relaxing herb 'tea'.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Assuming there's no other reason for it not thriving, that's the usual problem.
it's the same sort of situation as shrubs in freezing conditions or snow. They look awful for a while, but once the weather improves, so do the plants.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I think my problem might have been slightly different to yours though, because it never seemed to do well and went noticeably down-hill within a couple of weeks of planting. Looking back I suspect I might have damaged the roots when transferring it from pot to ground, I seem to remember they were quite fragile. Maybe planting in autumn is safer for viburnums - especially if we are likely to have more years with warmer and dryer spring months?
Good luck with yours though Hannah. On a brighter note, my other Viburnum (a different variety, but which was planted at the same time) is doing really well now after a slow start.