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Shrivelling fuchsias
chickenlady
Posts: 19
Several of my Genii fuchsias have started to shrivel most alarmingly - the leaves are turning crispy and falling off. No sign of rust disease or greenfly - they just look as though someone's been at them with a blowtorch. I blamed the cat at first but one of the plants is 5 foot high up and started to shrivel all down the stems from the top downwards. They're in all parts of the garden...and they're all going the same way. Other fuchsia varieties are healthy..and the plants surround the diseased fuchsias are all looking good. Anyone know what could be the problem. They're in sheltered parts of the garden.
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Can't quite tell from enlarging the picture what the problem is, although some of the stems look to be broken, have you checked well below the damage?
I think the branch has been snapped from the main plant.
I agree with Verdun. We've had a long, mostly dry summer.
Yes, there's a broken branch - it's where I was checking to see if the sap was still green. But the whole plant looks like that too.
I've dug up one of the shrivelled plants - and the earth underneath and around it wasn't dry - just nicely moist - and the foxgloves and hebe nearby are doing fine. The dug up plant showed roots that were dead too...in fact the whole thing was dead. It's a mystery. No sign of weevils or any bugs eating the roots...just dried up and shrivelled.
This is what the roots look like. I think you're right Buddyboy. Is the white area the fungus?
Yes, it's a bit mushy and with flaking off edges.
Oh dear! My fuchsias have also started to go crispy. I have never seen this before and I am desperately hoping it is not fungal as both of my shrubs are 20+ years old and have sentimental value. Is there any treatment and if I find some unaffected stems could I take cuttings?
Thank you Buddyboy....much appreciated. It's a shame...never had it before. They were grown from my own cuttings too
. I wonder if it's worth replanting next spring? Or maybe just plant some ferns?