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Outdoor Fatsia Japonica struggling badly

Steve WebbSteve Webb Posts: 29
in Problem solving
Hi there I have a garden with a well established Fatsia Japonica which until this winter has been very health as can be seen in the picture. However it is now really struggling, I taken a few shots tonight, not the greatest I'm afraid. I picked up about a dozen leaves and a few came off in my hand with no effort.

Any idea how I can save it, it really would be a shame to lose it because it is about 7ft height and about 9ft in diameter.

Thanks



Posts

  • DampGardenManDampGardenMan Posts: 1,054
    What part of the country are you in? Have you had a hard frost?
  • Steve WebbSteve Webb Posts: 29
    I'm in the Midlands, I suppose there has been a touch more late frost than normal this year but nothing particularly out of the ordinary I've noticed.

    I also have a Ivy covered arch next to the plant and this year I've noticed a lot more leaves have dropped off than normal and the ivy has thinned to the extent I can see though it in places.
  • DampGardenManDampGardenMan Posts: 1,054
    Has the soil become water-logged?
  • Steve WebbSteve Webb Posts: 29
    Nothing obvious, the weather has been very wet of late however but usually the garden drains well. There is a field at the back and slightly lower so I think the rain water tends to run off in to there.
  • Novice23Novice23 Posts: 200
    I also have a fatsia japonica which is probably about 8 or 9ft high.  Unfortunately although it looks quite healthy, all the growth is in the top third, with the lower two thirds just a thick stem like a tree.  It is in a fairly wooded area of the garden, with shade from trees.  I feed it and have cut the top back over the last couple of years which has resulted in several new flowering stems, but nothing that has grown lower down.   Is there anything I can do to encourage some growth in the lower part of the plant or will it just continue to grow like a tree?    
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    If other plants in the area are suddenly also not doing well, is it possible that somebody has sprayed weedkiller near by and the overspray has hit these plants?
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