I have large swaths of salal growing along a 3 meter bluff on the water. Several large patches have died to the roots over the winter. Surrounding salal does not seem to be affected. What is happening?
Global warming? The aftermath of the dry summer and early autumn last year? Salal is a coastal shrub that doesn't tolerate drought very well. I'm surprised that it grows at all in the San Juan Islands, which are pretty dry compared to the rest of coast.
The dead Salal is only 5% of a healthy stand stretching along the waterfront. No sign of bug damage or drought stress in anything else.
Aeolus, Welcome to the forum. I worked in Friday Hbr. for San Jaun Co, Health for 14 yrs, and am from Lopez. You've found the best plant forum of all. Don't worry too much about the salal. It tends to grow when and where it wants. Barb
Thanks Barb, The first response also made sense. I have irrigation but looked today and found that a few key sprinklers are blocked by growing plants. I am sure that it will come back this summer but if not, it is a nice place for something else. Loren
Like other heath family plants prone to root rot - when it grows in wetlands it is often present only on the tops of old stumps, and not down low anywhere where it could end up under water even only on occasion. Forms thickets under madrona on coastal bluffs and other high ground in the area because these are drier places with less soil moisture. Broad-leaved evergreens on the west coast in general indicate drier, less cold sites - both within the general environment here in the north and in the larger area of the entire coast, with fewer of them growing natively in the north part and greater numbers of individuals as well as species appearing the farther south the area being considered is. What has been called the Mixed Evergreen Forest - due to the greatly increased presence of broad-leaved evergreen trees - first appears in the north part of the Siskiyou-Klamath region, in SW Oregon.
