brendave - GW actually allows HTML code with the "img src". I posted your pic below: How long have the shrubs been planted? Sometimes there is a root problem where the root system can't support the top and the shrub ends up "self-pruning" by killing back branches. Once the problem is resolved, the types that tend to sucker will often recover and send up new growth from the roots and the remaining branches. Alternately, there may be a disease that impacts the roots like phytophera. That disease can impact dogwoods as well, although I believe it is a slightly different organism from that found among lilacs (but giving the same result). You could try pruning out the branches with brown leaves back well below where they begin and see what happens and if possible, you may want to save some to take to your local county extension office to see if they can positively ID what's going on. Here is a link that might be useful: Lilac diseases

A dowel rod is a round piece of wood - like a pencil. You can get one at a hdwe store & sharpen it in a pencil sharpener. Alternately, us a 12" wooden skewer - they come pre-sharpened. * Move the plant to a spot where you can repeatedly and thoroughly flush the soil with water that hasn't passed through the softener. * Flush the soil up to 10 times with at least as much water as the volume of the container the plant is in. You cannot overdo it. * After flushing, tilt the container at a 45* angle and wait for the container to stop draining. This drains a considerable amount more water than allowing the container to rest on its bottom. * After draining has stopped, remove the plant from it's pot and set on newspapers to drain. If the plant is small, a few hours is fine - if large, allow it to rest on the papers over night. * With a utility knife, slash deep vertical cuts into the root mass and an 'X' on the bottom. Alternately, you can remove an inch or two of the roots/soil from the bottom. * Pot up into a slightly larger pot and fill in around the roots with a soil similar to what you currently have in the root mass. Use a wick in the bottom of the pot if you are going to be able to lift the pot above the collection saucer (best). Ideally, the wick will dancle 2-3" below the bottom of the pot w/o contacting the water in the collection saucer. (I know - a lot to ask) ;o) This wick will 'fool' the water into 'thinking' the pot is deeper than it is. Water will move down the wick 'looking' for the bottom of the pot, and droip off the end. This will go a long way toward eliminating the specter of root rot and allowing you to water copiously enough to flush the soil each time you water to help gurad against salt accumulation. * A few days after you've repotted, fertilize with 1/2 the recommended strength of Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 (granular/box), Miracle-Gro 12-4-8 (liquid/yellow jug), or Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 (best, but you'd probably need to order online) * Give it all the light you can, and try to keep soil temps @ 65-75* That's the standard plan for bringing Ficus back from the brink. I'm not sure how many it's worked for, but I know it's more than I can guess at .... lots. ;o) Best luck!! I'll be around if you still have questions. Al

I don't think it's a bug problem, bingo. I don't know of any insects which can cause wilting like that... I'd stop spraying, as it probably isn't doing anything but costing you money. That branch-by-branch progression you're describing is extremely typical of a fungal or bacterial wilt. They persist in the soil for years, and in the case of the fungi, some varieties handle it better than others. My biggest question is: do the leaves turn yellow, or just limp floppy green all of a sudden? If it's yellow I'd say Fusarium wilt, a fungus -- it's what is named by the F in "VFFNT", which you find on some hybrid tomato labels. Sadly, hybrids with tolerances like the ones listed in VFFNT only last another week or two; it's important to a farmer trying to get out a crop, but not so useful to a home gardener. The only solution I know of is to stop growing any susceptible plant in that bed -- anything in the nightshade family, which has tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes -- and grow them in containers with store-bought soil, raised off the ground. If you use the same tools all over the garden, it will spread. If it's floppy green without a hint of yellow, cut off one of the affected stems and stick it in a glass of water. I can just about guarantee you'll find milky streams coming from the cut end within minutes. It's a sign of bacterial wilt, a nasty critter with no cure that's usually brought in with store-bought transplants. The only way around it is, again, to stop using the bed for anything bothered by it and switch to isolated containers with uncontaminated potting mix. I find bacterial wilt a lot less likely, though, as it tends to nuke every tomato plant out there and shouldn't spare your grape tomatoes. My money's on Fusarium. --Alison

Looks like its getting burnt to a crisp. When did you plant it? If it doesn't have any roots set up, it's getting blazed with hot sun, and you fertilized it, I think that would cause the burning. There could be something wacky with your soil too.