Hi, *beginner gardener here* I was recently doing some spring cleaning in my garden in an area where I had planted a lilac tree, a rosemary bush and a blueberry bush. It is one of the sunniest spots in my garden. Up until last summer I never had any issue with the lilac tree, then it suddenly stopped producing leaves and buds. I thought that maybe I trimmed it at the wrong time of year so I left it alone until this spring. I checked on the tree this past weekend, and it was just dead. Pushing it very slightly resulted in the whole thing falling over (no roots). I tried to dig in to see what happened with the roots and couldn't really find anything. (It's like they dissolved.) I also noticed that the once healthy rosemary bush, which grows in the same area of the garden, was completely dead along with the blueberry bush. I have no idea what could be causing this or how to fix it to grow more plants there. If someone has any theories/suggestions on what could be causing this please let me know. I'm desperate.
Well, first of all lilac, rosemary and blueberry don't like the same kind of conditions so you should probably not try to grow them together if you replace the plants. Lilac likes neutral or alkaline soil with lots of organic matter (our soil is naturally acid here); rosemary likes sandy, well-draining soil (think Mediterranean); and blueberries like acid soil but don't like to stand in water. But did they all die? Many blueberry bushes have not yet begun to leaf out, so I'd leave it there for another month just in case. Sometimes they will also re-bud from the base if the branches were winterkilled. Try running the back of a knife along a short portion of a branch to scrape away the bark. If it's green underneath it's not dead. To address your core question, if they ARE dead, it sounds as though all three drowned over the winter -- rotten roots are a giveaway. It's a particularly common thing with rosemary, although one of mine died over this past winter from a combination of too little drainage and windburn from those days of minus temps. Don't forget, last summer's dry, hot weather was extremely stressful for many plants here. If they were struggling last summer, the winter could have just finished them off. If you like lilacs, try replanting in a part shade location in your yard. If it gets not quite full sun, it'll still be fine. And you only prune lilacs right after they flower, or you don't get any more flowers! With regard to that spot, dig down a bit -- is the soil very wet even now? If so, try adding some compost, and digging it in. What you're trying to do is improve the drainage. You need to dig it in to at least the depth of your fork, and more if you can. Worst case scenario you can add compost ABOVE the soil line and essentially create a better-drained raised bed in that spot, but try digging it in first. Hope that helps! Keke
Thanks very much for your reply, I think you're right, the soil was quite damp. I thought maybe it was mostly due to the rain this past weekend. I'll try to wait another day or so to see how it is now that the weather is fairly dry. (The blueberry plant was definitely dead.) Other than compost, is there anything else you'd recommend I add to improve the drainage?
Sharp sand, maybe. NOT beach sand. The problem with sand is that it improves drainage but doesn't do anything for the amount of organic matter in the soil or its general nutrient content, which compost does. If you don't have your own finished compost you can buy it in bags from most garden centres or big box stores. Back in the day when I lived in an area with heavy clay subsoil (which tends to have less-good drainage) I was an advocate for deep digging (like two fork depths deep) with a fork to create drainage channels down into the subsoil. It worked over time, but only if I added compost or other organic materials while I was digging. Also take a look when it rains next to see if that area is a swale, where water from other parts of the yard (or other people's yards) drains INTO. If that's part of your problem you'll have to consider raising the surface up as well as working on the drainage there. Good luck! keke
Hello Ags, To be a successful gardener and to avoid too many disappointments in the future first of all you have to know your soil. Here http://organicgardening.about.com/od/soil/a/easysoiltests.htm[ you will find a very basic, but good information on what you need to know. Different plants like different soils. In the article you will also find info how to do a very simple, but sufficient, drainage test. I agree with Keke that the problems you have been experiencing are very likely caused by long-lasting saturation of your soil, nevertheless I would not relay on guessing, but rather make sure what is the true nature of the problem. Adding organic matter to the soil is always a good idea, it will help the soil with the excessive drainage to retain moisture and make the badly drained soil more porous, thus improving drainage. Never work the clayey soil when it is wet though, it will make it more compacted. When adding organic matter to the soil, the deeper you incorporate it the better. You could also consider building a French drain if you are sure you have a place where to redirect excessive water (it should not be on your neighbour property :) ), or make a drainage well – how big is up to you.
Thank you so much for your replies. I will look into the type of soil we have, get some compost and start digging then. :)
