Our once beautiful, green Escallonia is nos woody, very bear and has long stems and looking very sickly. We pruned it about 1 year ago and it has never recovered. Does it need fertlizer? or to be cut back? If so when. All of our Escallonia's are looking the same. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.
Escallonia care from Washington State Univ Extension (August 2003). I'd like to help more, but I don't know the answer to your questions. If no one else pipes up, you may want to email the author of the above factsheet (contact information is here)
Daniel, Thank you very much for your reply I found the article quite interesting. Since our plants are very sparce and woody right now I'm wondering if we should just cut them down and let them come back on their own? If so, what time of year should I do this? All help and suggestions are appreciated.
The 'Donard Seedling' cultivar commonly but incorrectly sold as 'Apple Blossom' naturally produces long arching canes with open spaces between the leaves. However, it sounds like yours is having a problem. Re-growth from the base cannot be expected to be vigorous after renovation pruning until the cause of its poor appearance is identified and addressed. If you could put up photos it might be possible to judge the situation, failing that you may have to seek local assistance at a Master Gardener clinic or reliable independent garden center.
Thank you very much for that information. I am currently out of town but will try taking a couple of pictures and see if I can post it on this website. Maybe it will give someone an idea of the problems with my plants.
