Quote:
Originally Posted by jstcruzin
Well there is no way to tell if it was dry now. It has been raining down here for 3 days straight. If it was a water issue I should see them perking up soon!!
I have good soil for about a foot to a foot and a half down then it becomes rocky and sandy. I asked at lowes today and was direct to a 10-2-8 tree and shrub fertilizer...I also read somewhere else yesterday that a fertilzer for Azalea, Camellia and Rhododendrons made by Vigora(sold at home depot), which is a 10-8-8. The package read also good for acid loving plants which cherry hedges are if i'm not mistaken. Thoughts on either of these? I guess the only difference is the amount of Nitrogen in them, right?
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How long have these been planted for?
If a plant has been very stressed and starts to die, it may not be able to take up the water anymore, even with lots of rain.
On the couple that look pretty bad, you could try the 10-8-8, the acidifying is fine. You don't really have much to lose on those, esp the last one, I am not sure it will make it.
Do they all have mulch around them?
While they are drought tolerant once established, if this was their first year, then they have not had time to establish a large enough root system to sustain them in a drought situation.
There are several diseases that attack this plant, I am not familiar enough with how they would look on this to tell you if they are involved. I would suspect that they would have hit all of your plants, and not just some, but not necessarily.
The fertilizer numbers are Nitrogen, Phosphorous, and Potassium, respectively.
Nitrogen forces top growth and foliage, which can stress an already stressed plant. Phosphorous stimulates root growth, and in general adding phosphorous is much safer for a sick plant.
You could also try some liquid miracle grow. They make a box called Miracaid for acid loving plants, you have to get it at a place like a plant store or hardware store, generally not the big box stores.
Miracaid will work very quickly if it is going to work, if the area is well watered, and you apply a dose of miracaid, if it is going to help, you will often see improvement overnight.
I would not spray them without being able to get a better idea of what might be causing the problem. Bringing a branch to a local nursery in your area might be helpful (preferable someone that actually grows plants and not just sells them) and see if they are able to identify what is going on. You also likely have a county extension office that would look at it and help you for free. The county extension office often runs a master gardener program that has local volunteers that help with these kind of problems.
Jamie
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