Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Established plants suddenly dying off

imawackpersonOcEWUZ4dimawackpersonOcEWUZ4d Posts: 6
in Problem solving
My mum has a lovely well established range of plants and shrubs in her garden. I bought her a Japanese magnolia over 10 years ago and more recently, a star Jasmine plant. 

The Japanese magnolia flourished in the ground and hadn't been moved or pruned previously. It's deciduous leaves started suddenly turning light brown at the edges and slowly shriveling up until they fell off which happened to the whole branch. My mum cut off all the browning sections and sprayed it with diluted Jayes fluid? Something she'd read online... I'm pretty sure it's a patio cleaner.

The poor plant got sicker and unfortunately didn't return this spring.

I have now noticed a few other plants in the garden with similar symptoms. The potted Star Jasmine I purchased for her a couple of years ago has now nearly lost all it's leaves and has been cut back by 80%. This one is in a large pot on the patio, across the other side of the garden.

I haven't checked the roots condition. 
The plants are not shaded.
They are watered by the hosepipe regularly.
I'm suspecting a disease or water contaminant? 
I have searched the web but unable to find exactly what is wrong.


«1

Posts

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    It could be sun,wind or frost damage, certainly Keyes fluid won't have helped it's a very strong disinfectant
  • imawackpersonOcEWUZ4dimawackpersonOcEWUZ4d Posts: 6
    I was mortified about the disinfectant, not going to lie 🙈

    Is there anything that can be done to try and save it?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I agree with @Nanny Beach that my first thought on seeing the jasmine is that it could be damage from the hard frosts we’ve had recently, particularly following a warm spell in early March which encouraged new leaves. 

    As we can’t see the magnolia we don’t really have any clues ... it could have been a variety of things ... I certainly would never spray a plant like that with Jeyes fluid. It’s pretty noxious stuff. 

    There’s all sort of strange stuff on the internet ... I just read that if you get ten bites from an English  common garden ant you will die ... 🤔 I wonder when, I've been bitten hundreds of times ... I’m still here ... 👍 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Oh Dove, l am extremely allergic to ant bites,mind you because of that I steer well clear of them so probably OK
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    I would dig up the plants and soak them trying to wash off as much jeyes fluid as possible. The ground will I imagine be poisoned now so I would consider digging over the area removing as much as possible. Who in the world thought that was a good idea?? Was it advice from Donald Trump? I wouldn’t have Jeyes fluid in the house let alone the garden. Really hope you can limit the damage. Maybe direct mom to a good gardening forum too for any future advice? 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Yes @Nanny Beach I can react badly to them too ... but they’ve not killed me... yet 😉 

    To return to the OP’s Query ... I would repot the jasmine into fresh John Innes No 3 with them addition of a few handfuls of horticultural grit. 

    What size container is it in ... might it need a bigger one?  A photo of the whole plant and container would help ... 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • imawackpersonOcEWUZ4dimawackpersonOcEWUZ4d Posts: 6
    I will get more pics asap 👍
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    If it doesn't kill you it makes you stronger my late Mum's favourite
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    I think” if it doesn’t kill you it can cripple, maim and damage you in every way, and the effects will last for years” is more accurate 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited April 2021
    But back in the day loads of folk used to use it to ‘sterilise’ greenhouse soil etc ... and then we discovered how dangerous it is, how it kills all the good stuff as well as the bad and makes plants more vulnerable.  But there’s still folk out there advocating its use ... just like some idiots used to bemoan the banning of DDT. 

    That’s the danger of t’internet advice if you don’t know who you’re getting it from. 😞 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





Sign In or Register to comment.