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Suddenly dying

sianeallertonsianeallerton Posts: 10
in Problem solving
Hi. Have had it fir a while and been fine  suddenly dying. Any suggestions? 
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Posts

  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Lack of water seems fairly obvious from the picture.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • sianeallertonsianeallerton Posts: 10
    As it is used to a Mediterranean climate I gave it less than my other pots.
  • ButtercupdaysButtercupdays Posts: 4,546
    It is totally dehydrated. It needs water, by the bucket load. Good start would be to dunk the whole pot under water in a large tub or dustbin and leave it there until no more bubbles appear. Then take it out, allow it to drain and put it somewhere shady. Give it more water when the soil surface begins to look dry. Repeat as necessary. If you are lucky it may show some signs of life, but it may drop all its leaves early and you might have to wait until spring to find out if it has survived. You can check it is not already dead by gently scraping the bark on the trunk with a thumbnail. If you see green underneath there is still hope, brown it's a goner.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited August 2022
    Mediterranean plants need quite a bit of water … what they don’t like is for that water to stay around their roots and make the compost boggy … so what they need is lots of grit in the compost so that it’s very freedraining. 

    I grow my Mediterranean trees …bay, fig etc .., in a mix of 3 parts of John Innes No 3 loambased  compost, and 1 part coarse horticultural grit … in a terracotta pot raised up on blocks to aid drainage. 

    They’ve been having at least one, sometimes two (depending  on size) buckets full of water every other day for the past 6 weeks or so. 

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





  • Desi_in_LondonDesi_in_London Posts: 731
    My only additional suggestion would be to raise the pot on something ( pot feet / bits of wood/ whatever)  - so that subsequently when you thoroughly water it , the water is easily able to drain away. 

    It may be the camera angle or my eyes, but it looks like the pots are all sited directly on the ground, which isn't ideal for drainage during winter in particular.

    Kindness is always the right choice.
  • sianeallertonsianeallerton Posts: 10
    Thank you. It never seems to want lots if water as it does not soak it up quickly like my other plants.
  • sianeallertonsianeallerton Posts: 10
    All pots are raised except this poor pot. I didnt realise it needed so much water. Just started gardening  :(
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It needs the water to run through as I described above. 

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





  • bcpathomebcpathome Posts: 1,313
    Just because it’s a Mediterranean plant doesn’t mean it can go without watering.It just means that it will tolerate heat better .Water is life .
    You will need to water it thoroughly and keep it out of the sun for a bit ,as has been said .I’m sure if you keep it moist and keep an eye out ,it will come back good as new .
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Once you’ve rehydrated the pot as described above, l would then repot your plant into a larger pot using the compost mix suggested. I would also remove the cane and ties which look a bit tight.  The trunk looks sturdy enough to support itself now.  

    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


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