Hello, I have a wisteria that has been growing so beautifully for the last five years but just three days ago, I remarked that all the leaves became crispy and wilted...in a matter of two days..! Since it has been dry and hot for the last two weeks ( I watered it occasionally, though) I thought it was because of lack of water. I'm going to dig dirt around today to see its roots but I'm afraid that I would be still left cluelss afterwards...(I don't know much of gardening;;;) It bloomed nicely about three months ago and I see a couple of pods hanging as well. Can there be any cause for such a sudden wilting? I have another question about rhodo...I planted it last year and it's not doing well. I suspect that it must be lack of space or sun (it's quite crowded with other plants and is in partially shaded area). Is it a good time to transplant now? Does it need lots of sun? Thank you so much in advance from a gardening novice;; (I'm in Langley).
Re: Wisteria Vine. Depending on the size of the vine and the location it is possible that it just dried out due to lack of water as we have had no rain for almost 3 weeks. Or, because it happened suddenly, that it is possible the root system has been damaged somehow. If it is lack of water (which I suspect it probably is) you could try watering to see if it will come back - wisteria are usually very resilient.....give it a really good soaking and see what happens. FYI, I would recommend watering outside gardens at least 1 or twice a week in this heat and give them a good soaking when you do - I water my gardens every 2-3 days in this heat and sometimes that is still not enough for some plants (in which case they are watered daily). Any small/young or tender/unhealthy or newly planted plants will definitely not survive on their own right now. As for the rhodo, it is possible to transplant at this time of year but again it is possible that it has not been getting enough water because they will do fine in partly shaped areas. But if you really want to move it, this is the best way to do it, and I would do this in the evening when it is cooler: 1) Dig and prepare the new hole; fill this hole with water and let it soak into the surrounding ground 2) Run water gently over the ground surrounding the plant to be removed and let it soak in (this could take some time depending on how hard the ground is) 3) Remove the plant with as much soil as possible 4) Run water gently over the root ball (do not wash away the soil) and again in the hole it is to be placed in 5) Place the plant in the prepared hole and fill in with soil 6) Once more run water gently over the newly placed plant and soil 7) Check and water lightly on a daily basis for the next couple of days - in the evenings - if required. Depending on how bad off the plant is to start with, the success rate for this method is pretty good; if the plant is healthy it is almost 100% if done properly; if not done properly, you are taking your chances. Good luck.
Thank you so much for your reply. I will surely do what you kindly indicated in the post. Thank you!!!
Some rhododendrons actually like less sun than others. One of my rhododendrons never really looked very good and it hardly bloomed at all, despite my best efforts in keeping it watered. Eventually, I decided to move it to a less prominent position in the garden and I moved it into the well shaded side yard. It immediately sprung to life. Its leaves perked up, it stopped begging for water, and it's been a heavy bloomer ever since. I have almost 200 rhododendrons all over my yard. I've never had one complain about too much shade but I've had several complain about too much sun. Your rhododendron might be getting too much sun. (I have no ideas about your wisteria except I wonder if you have been feeding it? Wisteria would rather be starved than fertilized.)
Thank you so much for your reply. You are probably right about rhodo getting too much sun. It was in full sun and I have moved in a shaded area. I'll keep an eye on it. I didn't know that wisterias don't like to be fertilized...;;; (I fertilized it two days ago..I'll see how it reacts...) Thank you for the info. I appreciate it. have a great sunny day! Kiwon