Front Hedge is dying!

[pkcdville]

HELP! Our front hedge is dying and the nursery I talked to was no help at all. I took samples of the dying vegetation (an evergreen shrub) and was told that it looked like it had boles, a virus, and/or something else going on. They did not give me any advice except to call a horticulturist. Any suggestions?

[sandih]

CAn you please tell us what type of hedge it is? Are there any spots or webs on the shrubs? A little more info would help.

[pkcdville]

Sorry, don't know what kind of shrub it is. It has broad, shiny leaves with smooth bark when it is healthy. There are no webs and the only insects I see are black ants. (Pretty sure they are ants as they do bite people.) Leaves droop then turn brown. Bark is going from smooth to rough and flaky. Also, areas that were pruned several feet from the ground are going from smooth cuts to flaking similar to what I have seen with termite damage. I am told that the second sympton could be caused by boles but not the first. What can I do for the boles if they are causing at least part of the problem? Can someone recommend a horticulturist? How much do they normally charge? How would I contact the County Extension Agent and would they would come and diagnose?

[kbrew]

Several questions:
I'm not familiar with boles... do you mean borers?
Are you using organic techniques?
Whrere are you located?
Can you submit a photo?

[Kathe Kitchens]

The conditions you describe indicate a bacterial problem. A spray of 1 tbsp. baking soda to 1 gallon of water could be helpful, and it's inexpensive. Garlic tea spray could be helpful if it is a virus. Cornmeal around the base of the plants almost always helps.

Has the soil been extremely moist lately? Is there a possibility that the soil was somehow contaminated or severely compacted in some way? Have you had foundation or other work done recently?

The ants are secondary to the problem,as are borers if you have them. Most likely it was there for a while and you just didn't realize it. If you can find out what kind of bushes these are it will help. And then there are times when a hedge outgrows its original ideal conditions and dies off due to crowding, poor air circulation, poor drainage or a combination of the above. Tree growth also sometimes turns what was a full sun area into a part or full shade area.

With some more information, we can possibly help you.
Kathe

[Gar]

I second kentobrew. If you can post a pic, or a link to a pic, it will help us to identify the problem. If you need help with posting the pic, please let me know. I posted instructions in an earlier post, on how to do it.

[pkcdville]

kentobrew wrote: Several questions:
I'm not familiar with boles... do you mean borers?
Are you using organic techniques?
Whrere are you located?
Can you submit a photo?

1. I probably do mean "borers" as opposed to boles.
2. I am not currently using any particular techniques but would prefer to use an organic solution as my neighbors on the east side tend to let their dog run free (without leash or supervision) in the mornings.
3. I am in southeast Duncanville - east of Highway 67 close to Cedar Hill
4. I am sending photos today to help with identifying the type of plant and the problems. (according to photobucket's web site I can only open a new account after 10 a.m. mountain time)

This area of Duncanville has had a lot of rain this summer. I have only had to water about three times and I don't bother if it has rained an inch or more in the past seven to ten days.

I know it looks like someone sprayed the hedge with broadleaf weed killer, but I have not used any this summer except some RoundUp at least 10 feet away from the hedge and that was at least four months ago. I have not compacted the soil, have only raked dead leaves and tried to elimiate some of the ivy that grows under the shrub and the volunteer trees.

I have emailed myself the instructions on how to post pics and will post them after I have a chance to register with photobucket.

Thanks everyone for your help.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge1002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge1006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge1007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge1009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge2002.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v470/pkcdville/Hedge2009.jpg

[Tricky Grama]

Looks like a 'dead' ringer for a red tip photinia. (sorry about the pun). HG says he's had good luck w/sick tree treatment on photinias-they seem to just 'go bad'. Check out the home page for the sick tree treatment.
Good luck!
Patty

[kbrew]

I agree with Patty. If it were me, I would replace them with something better suited for your area, something native. But that's just me. Kent

[pkcdville]

[quote="pjva"]Looks like a 'dead' ringer for a red tip photinia. (sorry about the pun). HG says he's had good luck w/sick tree treatment on photinias-they seem to just 'go bad'. Check out the home page for the sick tree treatment.
Good luck!
Patty[/quote]

Thanks! I will do that (sick tree treatment). As for replacing the hedge, I have to check with the company we lease the duplex from to see if the owners will replace the current bushes or if we have to and if the owners have a preferance. That is the downside of leasing.

[gnalekim]

I could be wrong (I should start all my posts this way)

I think your photinia is stressed from being hedged for too long. You can only expect to maintian a medium to fast growing hedge plant at the same size for short period of time, you either have to let it get progressively larger (maintaining form but not size) or as photinias are in the rosaceae fomily prune it severely after it gets too large and let it start over. Judging by the size of the branches, the density at the margins and the hieght it's being maintained at (red tip photinia would like to grow to 10-20' high yours is at about 4-5') it's time to prune it back to at least half it's hieght or let it get larger. You may have mineral or nutrient deficencies as a contributing factor but I've seen this many times in cotoneaster for the above mentioned reasons (cotoneaster is another popular hedge plant but in more northern climates, also in the rosaceae family).

By the way every year I propagate several thousand cotoneaster (peking or hedge, take your pick if you can get over the mass confusion over which is which).

[sandih]

http://www.dirtdoctor.com/view_question.php?id=40