It has been growing happily for 20 years, disease free. Garden is in zone 8, tree is in dappled shade. This spring the leaves started to brown and fall gradually. The other symptom is the bark which looks as it has burst producing longitudinal crevasses as can be seen in the pics. Gomero
The only remarkable thing about last winter was the almost absence of mild (with temps >15°C) periods, it was cool (not cold) throughout. Due to that most plants were leafing out almost a month late. Peak low temperature was only -7°C. Other recent winters had seen peak lows between -10° and -15°C. Many other arbutus in gardens in my area are doing fine. Gomero
This is interesting - I just discovered the exact same problem today with one of my A. unedo shrubs. I am located in Saanich/Victoria, BC The shrub pictured is one of about 25 in a row around a parking lot. The foliage is brown and the branches and main stems (at their lowest points) are cracked almost 0.25" wide and about half -way through their diameter of about 2". The most severely damaged shrub, pictured below, was cut down. It was located at the lowest point of the parking lot. The lot drains into a gravel filled trench and then the row of A. unedo shrubs are on the other side, slightly uphill, bordered by lawn. My pictures show stem damage, foliage and a cross section of the cut main stem. Greater Victoria had 2 snowfalls this past winter season - one in December 2010 and another shortly there-after in the new year. I didn't feel the winters were particularly "cold" but perhaps the location of my shrub worsened the impacts of the winter cold? It was in a perpetually wet location, exposed on all sides, subjected to large amounts of road salt. It is also irrigated through the summer months ... perhaps the irrigation should be reduced?
Once again I have the same thing happening as described above to A. undeo 'Compacta' There was no snowfall in Greater Vicitoria this past winter - at least none of significance. The last time I posted the affected shrubs were in the lower area of a parking lot where a French drain collected water - this time they are in an area well above that (though within 100m of the first ones posted previously). See pictures. The affected trees seemed to flower but then succumbed to their injuries making me think this ocurred after flowering - possibly in the early spring? The temperatures at this locale were about average for the area but in early February they dipped down to about -5 for the first 5 - 7 days. Could these simply be freezing cracks? Michael
