You are in business! Those are definitely new growth. I would leave the bush alone this year, just give it time to recover from its trauma. Maybe a couple of light feeds, one in late Spring and one in mid-summer, just to give it a boost.
I'd just tidy up all the ground around it, and maybe give it a mulch of compost or bark or similar. Then let it get on with it. If the soil's in good health, shrubs need no extra food
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Excellent that's what I was hoping I that they are shoots, but they just don't grow at this time of year when the rest are flowering. They haven't really developed since the end of last year but can't blame them 😉
Hopefully will get out there soon, sort some more bark/mulch and give it a good tidy. What feed should I be looking at?
If you really feel you have to feed, a simple slow release one like BF&B is fine, but it's more about keeping the soil healthy with shrubs, so removing weeds etc [anything that can compete for moisture and nutrients] and mulching regularly are the best things to do. When you say those aren't developing as well as the rest - it looks like it's on a corner sort of site. It could be that it's slightly more exposed to the elements at that corner, and one of the most common problems is the proximity to footings of paving etc. The soil there might simply be less viable, with less depth and poorer drainage
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Sorry I meant the rest of the bush and this is a pic of it back in September where it was starting to thin a bit. Pictures look awful, all full of weeds and looks like I never weed it but I do.
I'll leave feeding then, unless it's thought necessary and hope that they will start to shoot once the weather warms up
They do like good quality soil and good drainage, so it might just be that the site isn't entirely perfect. They can be quite fussy. You may need to keep adding lots of organic matter. Leaf mould would be good -if you're able to collect leaves in autumn and allow them to break down. They're very useful for all sorts of shrubs and trees as they help the soil structure. Any compost will also do, but avoid adding anything that's too acid or alkaline. However, when you say it was thinning, do you just mean the foliage was dropping off? Many areas had severe weather last summer - ie drought. That won't have helped it, and foliage gets shed so that the shrub can 'save' itself. Does it normally flower well for you?
Don't worry too much about those little bits of bittercress - it does tend to seed in very easily, so just pull them out whenever you can. One of the easier weeds
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Exactly yes the leaves were going yellow and dropping off, probably some messages in here from last year somewhere.
Normally flowers well and it's done well from a small plant that my late gran gave a few years back but then got flattened by snow where it started to spread out.
They can be fickle - especially with being moved, so it might simply be that it's been a bit stressed with the weather if you're in one of those drought ridden areas. It should be fine if everything else around it's site is fine, and if you've had it for several years without any issues, that helps. Newly established shrubs and trees need quite a long time to adapt to varying conditions, so they need to be watched more closely. There was someone a couple of days ago with a newly planted Camellia which he was concerned about, but as long as he's vigilant, especially with watering through this year if it's a dry area, it'll be fine. It's quite different with a more established plant like yours Some are evergreen and many aren't. A bit like Viburnums - a mixture of types. Some are deciduous, and flowers can appear before foliage, and some are semi evergreen- so yours may fall into that category where some leaves are dropped but are retained well in mild winters. The big swing in temps can be problematic for many plants, and a lot of people have had problems in that regard. A wet/freeze/thaw cycle is usually more problematic than just a cold dry spell. The snow wouldn't necessarily do any real damage either unless there was a foot of it or more. Always worth clearing it off [evergreens especially] if there's more than a couple of inches, as the most common problem is stems being broken, especially older, slightly dodgy ones. All being well, it should be fine. They're pretty tough shrubs on the whole
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Thank you, it's bound to be fickle as it's from my gran and she definitely was. Like a rose I have named after her, it's one of the most pricklier ones than we have and again swear it's her watching me haha.
I'll leave it be for now after a tidy and just wait for those shoots to come out properly
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If the soil's in good health, shrubs need no extra food
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Now that is was what I call rude.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Hopefully will get out there soon, sort some more bark/mulch and give it a good tidy. What feed should I be looking at?
When you say those aren't developing as well as the rest - it looks like it's on a corner sort of site. It could be that it's slightly more exposed to the elements at that corner, and one of the most common problems is the proximity to footings of paving etc. The soil there might simply be less viable, with less depth and poorer drainage
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'll leave feeding then, unless it's thought necessary and hope that they will start to shoot once the weather warms up
However, when you say it was thinning, do you just mean the foliage was dropping off? Many areas had severe weather last summer - ie drought. That won't have helped it, and foliage gets shed so that the shrub can 'save' itself. Does it normally flower well for you?
Don't worry too much about those little bits of bittercress - it does tend to seed in very easily, so just pull them out whenever you can. One of the easier weeds
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Normally flowers well and it's done well from a small plant that my late gran gave a few years back but then got flattened by snow where it started to spread out.
Some are evergreen and many aren't. A bit like Viburnums - a mixture of types. Some are deciduous, and flowers can appear before foliage, and some are semi evergreen- so yours may fall into that category where some leaves are dropped but are retained well in mild winters. The big swing in temps can be problematic for many plants, and a lot of people have had problems in that regard. A wet/freeze/thaw cycle is usually more problematic than just a cold dry spell.
The snow wouldn't necessarily do any real damage either unless there was a foot of it or more. Always worth clearing it off [evergreens especially] if there's more than a couple of inches, as the most common problem is stems being broken, especially older, slightly dodgy ones.
All being well, it should be fine. They're pretty tough shrubs on the whole
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I'll leave it be for now after a tidy and just wait for those shoots to come out properly