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Plant with sticky red substance on leaves and death of multiple plants

helenIFL3l9a5helenIFL3l9a5 Posts: 3
edited June 2021 in Problem solving
I have a bed of herb bushes: 2 thyme, sage, rosemary and lavender which have been well established over the last three years. They’ve all been really happy where they are, lots of leaves and flowers, great colour, good size. 

This year the thyme and sage did not come back after the winter and were completely dead. About two thirds of the lavender was dead too. 

I have no idea what’s happened, I didn’t do anything differently this year except I possibly put some home made compost on the bed, which has been fine across the rest of the garden. 

My other clue is I found a plant growing with the most striking looking bright red leaf blight with some horrible looking growths. I’ve done a Google but wasn’t able to find anything related. I don’t know if the two are connected. 

Does anyone have any idea of what the red is in the picture? Or what might happened to my herbs? I’m quite a new garden, only in my third year, so still lots to learn. 

Posts

  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    As far as I can tell, the plant in the picture is just one of the willowherbs, a rather stressed specimen which has maybe suffered from the weather this spring, with its weird mix of cold, hot, dry and wet plus the occasional hailstorm, hence the leaf damage, though that might also be insects. The red colour is normal for its older leaves, which are no longer producing chlorophyll and change like tree leaves in autumn.
    The weather is likely also to blame for the decease of your herb plants, just as it has very nearly killed my enormous 10 year old sage, which understandably didn't like being fast frozen by freezing rain and left to chill at -14C. Not what Mediterranean plants expect.
    The only connection is the weather. :)
  • bertrand-mabelbertrand-mabel Posts: 2,697
    Yes the weather has been awful for so long.
    However our lavender has continued to grow this Spring. The Rosemary (at least 30 years old) has also continued.
    The thyme about 10 years old has also survived.
    However we have lost many other very longlasting plants this year.
  • helenIFL3l9a5helenIFL3l9a5 Posts: 3
    Thank you both! I really appreciate it! I was worried something bad was happening or I’d done something wrong. I guess I’ll just need to get some new plants. :)
  • herbaceousherbaceous Posts: 2,318
    Just to chip in Helen (completely agree with the weather killing stuff off) the herbs you named are all very easy to take cuttings from.  I usually strike about a dozen or so each year just in case and also keep more than one active plant in different areas of the garden as insurance.  If the cuttings take and are not needed you can usually palm them off on friends  :)
    "The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."  Sir Terry Pratchett
  • helenIFL3l9a5helenIFL3l9a5 Posts: 3
    Great tip! I’ll definitely give that a go! 
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