"the structure of that plant is not good" As was said in The Honeymooners -----> To the moon, Ken! I believe you just told me my shrub is akin to the Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. :( ... it has been pruned for shipping and handling. You got that right! This thing is pruned ALL OVER. I'm going to have to get some close up pics of it. I asked the woman at the nursery why it was so pruned and she said to keep all the branches at the same length because some shoots were growing way too tall too fast and they wanted the bush to have a uniform appearance all around. Be honest, is my bush doomed to be fugly? There are pruned branches throughout this bush. I hate seeing them. Oh, and when I kept expressing concern over the pruning she said hun, you won't even notice the pruning, this bush is going to grow so fast and so big that this pruning will NEVER be noticed. She was adamant about that. I don't want my bush to be structurally unsound. Is it still wind tolerant? When you say it is structurally not good, is that from a structure point of view or an aesthetic point of view? "you inspire me with your drive and ambition to learn.. and that is why i always take the time to try to make you think about the next step .... you remind me of someone.. 20 years back.. though i didnt have the WWWeb to make learning easy" Your mentoring is priceless to me and no doubt to everyone on here. I love that you take the time to help me because you know more than just about anyone I know. Did you have someone who mentored you that taught you a few things on the way or was it all trial and error? Oh and Gardengal, thank you for putting things in perspective for me. You're right, that large root system is to be admired, not criticized. The fact that the bush was growing so well in spite of them growing beyond the pot means they did indeed take good care to water and feed it. I am very grateful for that. Whaas, I love your Forsythia pics. They are beautiful!

Thank you, bboy. As it turns out, we did visit a local nursery with a Master Gardener on the premises and he was able to identify the problem. Turns out what everyone else (including several people in nurseries) thought was the dried up remains of a pest, was effluence. The MG speculated that the tips dying back was due to bacterial blight, and the tree's response was to weep sap out just at the spot where deadwood met live wood. He said all maples have such high sugar content in the sap that when it oozes out and subsequently dries it looks white and hardened, like that on my branches.

Hello. We own a large farm with many different species of plants, trees & shrubs. A few years ago we were donated about 30 red tip photinias. And I've noticed some things very interesting that's told me a lot about this species. 20 of the ones we recieved were planted in full sun in well drained soil. And they look awful. About like yours or worse really. They have barely grown. And are clinging to life. The other 10 were planted in an area of about full shade in acidic well drained soil. They are almost completely shaded from the sun about 80% of each day. Then partial shade the rest of the day. The difference is amazing. These 10 are gorgeous, healthy, & have grown vigorously. Seem perfectly healthy and have shown zero signs of problems. It's amazing to see the difference between these growing in 2 different areas. Other than the shade & acidity. The composition of the soil is the same. We did this as a test because the planting instructions stated partial shade. And what a difference. I'd expected the others would do better than they have. But we're relocating the other 20 to this site to save their lives. I'll post an update of their progress. Because they're not going to make it in their current location. Fungus or Root rot does not seem to be a factor in our situation. Look at the pictures. These were both identical when planted 2 seasons ago. One group hasnt grown at all. And are almost dead. The other group has more than doubled in size. And are gorgeous. I hope this helps future planters. Thanks.

Well then, it has been a few months since the OP first posted but getting back to their issue. It sure sounds to me like he/she was watering too frequently (daily) but at the same time was not giving them enough water (watering shallowly instead of deeply). This was evidenced by the larger tomatoes having blossom end rot and the cherry fruits cracking after a rain. Both of which are caused by inconsistent soil moisture and having the soil go from being dry to moist to dry again (or vice versa). Dry soil and lack of available soil moisture means the plant cannot effectively distribute calcium to all parts of the plant which in turn causes blossom end rot. When the soil is dry and it rains there is a surge of water available and the fruit swells and cracks. If the soil was kept consistently moist then the blossom end rot and the cracking would not be as big of an issue. Posted by FastInk on September 6th: "(Ignoring other posters) The roots of your plant are drowning... or in other words, they can't breathe, this happens in pots most often . Yes it is blossom end rot and has nothing to do about your tomatoes but rather the root health of your plant, forget about your tomatoes... your plant is unhealthy.... the pictures depict a very unhealthy root system caused by too much water and not enough oxygen to the roots." Root rot from overwatering can cause issues but the plant itself would also be showing signs of this in the form of leaf curling, yellowing, and/or wilting. There is no evidence of this in the OP's photo. On the contrary, the leaves of the plant look healthy. It is highly doubtful that the OP's plants are being overwatered. Rodney