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Griselinia turning brown

james.allblacksjames.allblacks Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Hi there

I transplanted this griselinia about a month ago. It was perfect and green before transplanting. I've regularly watered it. Now it has drooping leaves, some are yellow, some are brown, and many are falling off. What should I do to revive it? At this rate it'll die very shortly. 

It is planted in mostly clay. Would I be advised to put potting mix at the base? 

Thanks for your help.

Posts

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Hello @james.allblacks and welcome to the forum 😊 

    My initial thoughts are:

    It's virtually impossible to dig up and move a shrub without disturbing/damaging the thousands of fine roots which take in moisture and nutrition for the plant. A way of reducing the effects of this would’ve been to cut the shrub hard back before moving it, so that it’s need for moisture etc was reduced. 

    Did you plant it directly into the clay, or did you prepare the planting site by digging in some organic matter, garden compost, leaf mould etc?  That would’ve been beneficial. 

    You say it’s been watered regularly, but how much water and how often?  The soil around it looks quite dry. I would give a shrub that size a bucketful of water twice a week for the next few weeks, poured slowly around the roots so that it soaks in and doesn’t run off the surface. 

    For more advice we need to know whereabouts you are … are you in the UK or …? What season is it where you are?

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





  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited October 2022
    Dropping leaves is what plants do when they are stressed.  It doesn't look as though it will die , yet.  Two ways to judge:  are the growing points still looking alive? and if the bark is scratched through on the lower branches, do they still show green?  Otherwise, Dove above has the answer, and the additional questions.

    Your "mostly clay" looks mostly stones to me. Is that the natural soil or is it more sub-soil and builders' rubbish?

    I only know Griselinia from the SW coast. (added later: by which i mean north coast Cornwall, UK)
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • james.allblacksjames.allblacks Posts: 5
    Hi there, thanks for the reply.
    I'm in new Zealand and it's spring. Unfortunately I didnt plant it with any compost, just straight in the clay. I've been watering it every second day with the hose for about a minute, so very wet all around it. 

    Tonight I put compost around the roots and watered it. What else could I do to stop it dieing? 

    Thanks again
  • james.allblacksjames.allblacks Posts: 5
    Hi bédé, the new buds / growing points have all fallen off, and with the drooping leaves it makes me wonder if it's entering its death throws.

    Yes, the clay is a little rocky. I'm guessing my mistake was not taking care to put compost in the hole before planting. Perhaps I'm too little too late now?


  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited October 2022
    Cutting the plant hard back to about a third would not do any harm.  

    Was it a wild plant?  Did you do the digging up ?  How much root did you lose?  How much original soil still on the roots did you retain?  Was it kept moist whilst out of the ground. 
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • james.allblacksjames.allblacks Posts: 5
    I didn't do the digging up, but the roots were very intact and looked like they had not been cut barely at all. However it didn't retain any original soil. I'll give it a hack. Thanks for the advice
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    The NZ clue was there to see, but I didn't read past the "james".  If Griselinias are cheap in NZ, I would start again.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited October 2022
    If it had no soil on the roots then the important tiny hair-like roots (the important almost invisible ones) will have been damaged or even killed. It’ll take time to recover from that. 

    This year I would cut it right back and keep up with regular watering … don’t make the soil boggy, but check that the soil down below the surface remains just damp … and I would mulch over the root area with compost to help the soil retain moisture. Doing that should eventually improve the soil around the roots. 

    Don’t feed it this year … feeding a struggling plant is like giving an ill person a rich four course meal … they can’t absorb it and it stresses them even more. 

    Hopefully by this time next year you’ll have a fine and healthy Griselina bush. 😊 🤞 


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





  • james.allblacksjames.allblacks Posts: 5
    Thanks for the help!!!
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