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Wine & Rose Weigela - All Brown, Crispy Leaves

14 years ago

We had three Wine & Rose Weigelas put in about two months ago...they looked to be doing good and were flowering; however, within the last couple weeks the leaves started turning brown and crispy (from the inside of the bush, outwards). At this time nearly the entire plant is this way. What should I do? I think they're in a pretty wet area so I'm wondering if they're getting too much water. How can I save them? Should I remove all dead leaves (basically this would be everything on it). Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

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Comments (3)

whaas_5a
14 years ago
Not much you can do unless you transplant to another location. Weigela do like a well drained soil, actually like it dry.

Sure you've gotten a ton of rain, so I'd just wait it out.

I would just leave the leaves for now. Remember the plant is not officially dead until the stems turn brown (scrap away the top layer).
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years ago
Agreed, weigelas need good drainage. They are expressing their disappointment over their wet feet.

Dan
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angelom1972, A bit more info would be helpful in answering your questions. Where are you located? Is the weigla W&R newly planted? How frequently are you watering? What exposure? Any signs of insects? In general, the shrub is quite tolerant of dry conditions. Like any new planting though...if it just went in the ground & hasn't had time to get its roots down then you'll need to keep the soil moist (not saturated). Dig down 2-4" in the soil next to the shrub. Is it moist? If not, water. The branches that haven't leafed out yet have probably winter killed. It's getting quite late even for weigela to leaf out. Prune back to live wood & they will quickly regrow. /tricia
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Thanks for the responses. I'll prune the shrub tomorrow. Hopefully it'll keep a decent shape after all the dead branches are gone. morz8, I unfortunately didn't see your post till after I'd already gotten a cage, but I'll definitely look into Critter Ridder. I've been using several different sprays for deer and rabbit, but I didn't know you could get stuff for cats and dogs as well. (Also, if it really repels squirrels, I'll be extra thrilled.) We have a handful of neighborhood cats (a couple of which just seems like strays) that wander in and out of our yard, and I tend to enjoy their companyÃ¯Â¿Â½or at least find them innocuous. Don't know why that one fellow got so aggressive with a young shrub that isn't even good for sharpening his claws against!
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jean001
14 years ago
It was said "like a well drained soil, actually like it dry."

Only if they have a well-established root system.

It was also said "They are expressing their disappointment over their wet feet. "

Maybe, maybe not. The only way to know for certain if to stoop down and physically check the soil. Moist? Wet? Sopping? Dry?

Even though they're in a wet area, the original rootball may be dry. Check it, please.

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