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Virginia Sweetspire Not Thriving

18 years ago

We planted a Virginia Sweetspire a week back ("Little Henry". According to the nursery and every place else, this shrub will survive anywhere, in any kind of situation.

Ours looked very healthy and yet, here it is a week later and it looks like it is drying up. We've been watering properly, it was planted properly.

We're very disappointed since the bush was not cheap (it's a very decent size and nicely shaped). Is there anything we can do to help it? Is this transplant shock perhaps?

Any help appreciated!

Laurie

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Comments (7)

jenny_in_se_pa
18 years ago
It could be some transplant shock. Also the air in our area has been very dry and windy the past couple months (the desert-low humidities and dewpoints being sortof unheard of this time of year, but true). So while the shrub is trying to regrow the fine feeder roots, water in the soil can't reach the leaves fast enough to compensate for the desicating winds. I would give it some time.
Laurie
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the comment. It totally makes sense to me.

I mentioned this exact thing to my husband. It's been so dry, much more than usual and I told him it probably needs more water than he thinks. Since he's home right now, and taking care of the gardening, I told him he's going to have to do a better job at watering until it gets settled in.
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The trick to getting fall colour is to have the plant in quite a bit of sun. The more shade it's in, the more it tends toward an indeterminate green. Although summer sun may do the trick, I actually think it needs the sun to be hitting it in fall, when you want the leaves to colour up, but I'm less sure about that. The first spot I had mine in, where it stayed olive, was in mostly shade year-round. The second spot, where it showed gorgeous colour, in quite a bit of sun year-round. Now it's in my north-facing front yard where it gets summer sun but where the shadow of the house will envelop it by mid to late September. This is a test of its sun needs! Also, in my experience, Itea suckering is not of the running type that you get with, for example, the revoltingly aggressive flowering quince. The new shoots stay fairly close to the mother plant.
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jenny_in_se_pa
18 years ago
What is a shame is that the manual watering might be sufficient but the actual air is so dry like in the deserts of Arizona, that the leaves are dessicating. The lack of humidity is hard enough on our established plants and probably worse on new plantings. But then when it's too humid, *we* complain! LOL Fortunately the itea thrive in wet sites so giving yours more shouldn't hurt it.

Anyway, wish you luck with your "baby"!
Laurie
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks for the help! We've been keeping an eye on it and today it looks a bit better. I really love this new shrub from the moment I saw it. It has such a charming appearance. We also noticed several other more established plants having the same problem (such as one of my rose bushes) so we're really going to step up on the watering now. We spent far too much money so far this spring on new plantings to let them all dry up!
karinl
18 years ago
I'm not sure what you mean by "planted properly" because when planting new plants you do have to pay attention to the potting soil. If it is that dry peaty stuff, it tends to take up water less well than does the surrounding soil, so you can actually be watering the ground quite well and not getting the rootball very wet. Personally, I always sort of rip the rootball apart, and get rid of as much of the potting soil as I can (I mix it with ordinary soil and if it has the vermiculite in it I use it for fill in big containers, or in the garden somewhere).

But also, Itea is a mostly deciduous shrub; and it can and does grow new leaves. It can also grow new shoots if you lose a few stems or if it loses its shape; you prune it back and it resprouts.
Laurie
Original Author
18 years ago
We did pull the rootball apart - we do this w/all of our plants. Also got rid of a lot of the soil which was in the pot and replaced it with soil which was in the ground.

It's been looking much better the past day or so :-)
jenny_in_se_pa
18 years ago
sivyaleah - glad your "baby" is doing better!! It should be gorgeous in the fall.

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