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Is this dead?!

clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
in Problem solving
Disclaimer I've bought a house with a garden and I don't have the first clue!

This looked lovely since we moved in last August, just recently it's gone brown. Is it dead?

I used an app to identify it as a potato vine. It was green with white flowers until about 2 weeks ago.  

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    There are quite a few varieties of potato vine (solanum), l think the best thing to do is try the fingernail test.
    Near the bottom of the plant, just gently scrape the bark with your fingernail. If it's green underneath, all is not lost. If it's brown, then it's more than likely dead.
  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
    Ok I will give it a scratch and see. It looked like this back when it was healthy.

  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32

  • clemmyx760clemmyx760 Posts: 32
    Ignore the text it's a screen grab from my old Instagram story ^^^
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    It's Solanum Laxum 'Album', and not very hardy of the ornamental Potato Vines. They can be cut down by cold and wet weather. They are usually vigorous, so I would just prune the shrub back down and wait to see if there will growth. You can leave it like that and also wait. Leaves hanging on to the shrub is not a good sign. Leaves normally drop off periodically. But if they cling onto the branches, they signal death. This climber is not suitable for cold and exposed areas. They also prefer free draining soils. 
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