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Poorly lilac

kateindulwichkateindulwich Posts: 9
in Problem solving
My lilac (which I planted about 5 years ago and has been healthy until now) is looking ill. It was fine and flowered well earlier this year, but over the last few weeks its leaves have taken on a sickly colour and they’re curling. 

I have administered some Maxicrop seaweed + iron a week ago, but it is still deteriorating.  The soil is acidic but that doesn’t appear to have been an issue in previous years. 

Please help! Photos below. 


Posts

  • kateindulwichkateindulwich Posts: 9
    Bumping for the morning crowd...
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    There have been a few posts recently with lilac issues.  They are usually quite robust plants.  Hopefully someone has an answer.  
    Utah, USA.
  • OmoriOmori Posts: 1,674
    How’s the drainage there?
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    On the other end of the spectrum, it could be a water issue since you say previous years, the plant seems fine. It looks like a young looking shrub, and I suspect not pruned at all before?

    The last few years have seen extreme dry weather over the summer months. If you have not been giving it additional help in watering, especially in the first 3 years, your shrub will be easily weakened in dry weather. The base surrounding the plant should not have too many aggressive plants grown near it.

    Once Lilacs settle in, they are usually tough plants. The way it's looking suggest that there had not been enough watering during the early years. To cope, they will lose leaves earlier and shut down earlier. 

    Check the branches properly too. There are signs of branch die-back or any small cracks/breakages. In your photos, certain areas seems to look more yellow than others. You may need to prune out dried up brittle branches to stem die-back.
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