I was given some spirea plants recently. They were in rough shape when I got them and since they've been planted the leaves have begun to turn brown and fall off. The plants are now in various stages with some still having a few green leaves, the rest having all brown leaves. I assume this means the plants are dead and I should get rid of them. A neighbour has assured me that the spirea plants are simply suffering some 'shock' and I should leave them in the ground as they'll rebound and be full of life next year. Any thoughts? Are my plants dead?
Top pruning at planting of no benefit to health of plant, in fact nutrients stored in stems are used to support root growth so it is actually counterproductive. (Bareroot stock planted in spring also needs hormones generated by overwintering buds to promote initiation of new roots at cut root ends). Your plants need to be kept well watered (and mulched), hung onto until it becomes clear they are not going to sprout new leaves and grow back. Probably the problem is they were dug out of the ground in August, something that does not usually work with deciduous subjects (unless they come away with most of their roots).
Thanks for the replies. I've mulched the plants and been keeping them watered. They don't look good, but I guess I'll wait til spring and see what happens. Bit more info on the plants - the plants they were in about 1 gallon sized black pots. I think they had been bought at a store/nursery and just never ended up being planted. Plants themselves are from 1 to 2 feet tall.
Probably the potting soil rootballs have dried out and are not being re-moistened all the way through, peat-based potting soils in particular can be quite recalcitrant. Maybe dig them up and try plunging in a tub filled with clean water, until bubbles stop rising. However, even if not actually dead and crispy your new plants may still be a questionable investment as specimens in poor condition at planting are often very slow to establish and develop. Another possibility is that they were actually infested with a pathogenic condition when received, which might spread - we are assuming they dried out but don't really have enough information to be sure that is the extent of it.
I had always thought that transplanting was harder on the shrub the more leaves they had to support. sorry for misleading you.
Thanks again for the reponses smives, levilyla and Ron B. It's not spring yet, but one of the plants has started to sprout new green leaves! I'll keep my fingers crossed that the other plants do as well.
