1. Arbutus 2. Rhododendron 3. Arbutus 4. Arbutus Many Arbutus are having disease problems in this area. The term Black Spot is used for the notorious disease of roses and is not what you have. Read about diseases of madrona trees and then decide what to do about yours. Do not spray anything on this - or any other shrubs - in future without knowing exactly what is wrong with it - and what specific approach is recommended. Leaves of madrona trees on my friend's Camano Island property turned almost entirely black this winter. Some years ago there was an entire conference held on diseases of madrona. Blackening of strawberry tree and manzanita (incl. bearberry) also frequent here.

Good points, trianglejohn, and in some respects I agree with you. We'll never get rid of all of this. But I guess the following is what I think about/do: - support efforts to eradicate populations in protected natural areas (volunteer efforts, helping state/federal employees learn about which plants are invasive); I feel it is important to try and keep some places as free of infestation as possible. - support efforts to educate people about what plants are invasive because the average person does not know/recognize these plants; if the person does know then they can help stop the spread on their own land and in turn help to educate others. - support efforts to stop selling the worst plants - did you know you can still buy chinese wisteria and chinese privet (as well as the japanese versions of both) plants in nurseries? - support efforts to do a better job of screening new plants for invasive potential and for presence of invasive pests/diseases that hitch a ride. - support efforts to make the public aware of invasives that move into new territories - like garlic mustard coming into Georgia and Cogongrass moving north and inland; we have a good chance of reducing the spread of these if we don't let them get a foothold into new areas. And yes, you can pick and choose which invasives you support like dottie says. If more people would at least try to get rid of something, that would be better than doing nothing. Chinaberry hasn't gotten to my area yet, but I know it is less than an hour's drive from me. If people would at least cut off and destroy the berries - even if not all of them - that would help too. Maybe one day pests will arrive to take care of some of these things - mimosa wilt supposedly kills some of them, but not nearly enough!

The blueing/dark color on the leaves indicate to me that the plants are not getting/uptaking nutrients adequately . In my opinion 9C (=48F) was not and is not cold for tomato plants PROVDED you hardened them off , for several days, prior to planting. The second issue is the soil temperatures. In order for the plants to be able to uptake nutrients, a minimum soil temperature is required . 50 -55F ? ( = 12 C) should be ok. Again, in the hardening off process the roots also are introduced to cool temperatures gradually, so when they are placed in cool soil ( 10 -12C) they won't get a shock.. MY Recent Experience: On 4/8, 9, 10/15 I planted bunch of tomato plants, some with protection some withoiut. In the following week we had lows going down to 38F ( =3.5 C) .few nights. I have seen no ill effects. BUT before planting out I did check the soil temperature. It average around 52F. So far our average lows have been 42-43F. My plants are normal, though they are growing very slowly. I have seen buds on several of them. I think your plants should rebound. I would water them with lukewarm water (~ 26-27C). When I want to water mine, i fill watering cans and let the warm up in the sun for several hours. Warmer water will raise soil temperature and help dissolve the nutrients better for the plants uptake. JMO Sey

"If you see signs of root rot it means the location is infested, see discussion I linked to for more." All typical gardening locations are infested, at least on the east coast. 'Nova Zembla' is a known susceptible variety and should not be sold outwith the PNW or cool summer areas north of Boston. Unfortunately idiotic and greedy wholesalers continue to promote it for most of the country. A hot, dry summer in MI could certainly trigger root rot. There really isn't a sensible cultural practice to avoid exposure to the organisms themselves. It is going to happen at some point if they are planted into the ground. You have to plant resistant varieties and/or follow cultural practices to minimize it. (Make sure soil is well draining, up to and including planting on a mound or rise.) There are better reds, both in color and root rot resistance, but I wouldn't know one to recommend for as far north as Michigan. Perhaps 'Henry's Red'. Yes as mike said, you need to open up the root mass when planting container stock. Next spring you might dig the other one up (if you decide to keep it there) and untangle the roots. I would do that down here in fall but your winters are colder, better to wait.