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Photinia Blow Over - No Roots?

MTB79MTB79 Posts: 52
in Problem solving
Hi, 
My photinia has blown over, it's been in for about 3-4 years so it's pretty well established, so it really surprised me. On closer inspection it has no roots, just a stump (see picture), is this not a bit weird and is there anything I could do to save it?
Thanks!

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Posts

  • roisin897roisin897 Posts: 32
    That is really strange: I have no idea, sorry! (We are planning to move two established photinias in spring, but I was expecting they would have huge rootballs.)

    Age doesn't make you forgetful. Having way too many stupid things to remember makes you forgetful.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    I can see evidence of vine weevil damage to the leaves and wonder if that's the cause as the larvae eat the roots.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Agree with @K67 it looks like you have vine weevils in the ground but really strange they'd manage to do so much damage in the open ground. They're much more destructive in containers. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • CazzieTCazzieT Posts: 74
    Agreed - vine weevils seem to be the answer though I thought the leaves might show more damage.  Did you see any larvae in the soil?  Our open ground rhododendron leaves are all chewed into slots round the edges
    but still growing properly at the moment and I've been using Nemasys vine weevil killer in spring and autumn.  It looks as if it might be too late for the photinia but you might want to use Nemasys in the surrounding ground in September so they don't travel elsewhere or into a new shrub.
  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    I wonder if the root damage was over several seasons though, was it very healthy last year or looking a bit sorry?
  • MTB79MTB79 Posts: 52
    It's never been that healthy, I got it because I felt sorry for it in the garden centre, it's not grown as well as another I have and it always had purple spots on the leaves. There was never a great deal of leaf damage but anything planted either side of it died within a year each time.
    I have never seen any larvae when putting other stuff in near it.
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge Posts: 2,736
    Have a good look inside the stump... you'll usually find some white larvae still lodged in there. Horrible little critters.
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • MTB79MTB79 Posts: 52
    Had a look in the stump and no larvae, had a dig around the ground and none either, but a lot of what looks like some form of white stringy fungus?

  • MTB79MTB79 Posts: 52
    Oh, and these (empty) eggs..

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    The clear eggs are mollusc. The yellow things are the remains of slow acting fertiliser.
    Vine weevils do not normally eat the roots of wood plants like that, in my experience.
    Is the soil in that position very wet?
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