Viburnum bodnantense bark splitting

Posts

• Liriodendron Posts: 8,328

  July 2023

  What do the leaves look like?  I'm afraid those stems don't look good to me...

  Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.

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• Busy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043

  July 2023

  That can happen with extreme changes of weather, dry period following by a lot of rain.

  Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.

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• GardenerSuze Posts: 5,692

  July 2023

  @turmeric I had the same happen over winter but with Cotoneaster. I think it had been too wet and then the ground had frozen. It had a nasty split at the base and I had to cut a large area out.

  I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.

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• bédé Posts: 3,095

  July 2023

  All the stems I can see look dead.   

   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."

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• Fairygirl Posts: 55,117

  July 2023

  That's a pity @turmeric. It happened with one of mine when I had to cut it back to move it. Too wet for a long period afterwards didn't help, even when it was in a fairly sheltered site. That isn't going to recover unfortunately. 

  It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
  
  
  
  I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...

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• Topbird Posts: 8,355

  July 2023

  It would be interesting to know if the shrub looks to be in good health other than bark splitting (ie what do the leaves look like? any signs of due back?)
  
  One of my bodnantenses succumbed to what was probably honey fungus and that had split bark on several stems / branches.

  Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  

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• nutcutlet Posts: 27,445

  July 2023

  the bit we see is dead or dying, what does the rest look like

  
  
  In the sticks near Peterborough

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• turmeric Posts: 830

  July 2023

  Sorry for the delay in answering everyone, I go to work very early and am only now back.  Thank you for everyone's answers.  I'm seeing the lady next week so I'll pass all of the information on.  
  
  In answer to Topbird and Liriodendron, the leaves started curling slightly and falling off about a month ago, they've now nearly all gone.  I did scrape back some of the bark further up the plant and it was green but then I saw the splitting at the base this week.  Strangely, she had two planted at the same time about 2m apart - the other one looks really healthy!  And they've had the same treatment from the start.
  
  All a bit strange really as to why one now looks so sickly.  I was hoping someone would say "ah yes, that's ***************, caused by......" but I suppose sometimes these things just happen.
  
  Many thanks to all.
  

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• bédé Posts: 3,095

  July 2023 edited July 2023

  If it were honey fungus (I can't be definite, and wouldn't wish to panic you) it strikes a bit at random.
  
  Scrape around lower stem amd the nearby soil.  Honey fungus has distinctive leathery "boot lace" growths.

   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."

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• Topbird Posts: 8,355

  July 2023

  I definitely have HF in my garden but have never seen any of the boot lace growths.
  
  The split bark and curling, falling leaves could be indicative of HF but the most reliable 'test' is to scrape away a little bark at the base of an affected stem near to the root. If there is white mycelium under the bark and a fairly strong smell of mushrooms it's almost certainly bad news.
  
  As @bede says it's a fungus which can be a bit random in the way it affects shrubs in a given area.
  
  Unfortunately viburnums are particularly vulnerable to HF🙁

  Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  

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