wilt on Caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue'

**C* U* <c*@gmail.com>**

A few weeks ago I suddenly discovered branches on my two  5-or 6-year  
old 'Sunshine Blue' caryopteris were wilting. This was a Monday and I  
hadn't noticed anything amiss the previous Friday, the last time I'd  
been in the garden. I immediately cut off the wilted branches and put  
them in a garbage bag and tossed in the trash. Since then, the wilting  
has continued, and as soon as I see a bad branch, I cut it off.  
Yesterday I removed more branches. The plants were about 4 feet tall  
and 5 feet wide last summer and they bloomed beautifully with lots of  
bees.

Has anyone else had a similar problem?  Weather in Chicago was dry  
through the winter with little snow, dry in early spring and now it  
rains every day. Some northwestern suburbs got 6 inches or more  
yesterday. No winter kill on other plants and everything else is  
thriving.

I'm toying with the idea of cutting off all the remaining branches and  
seeing if the plants rebound.  Last year I had serious rust on a  
'WhiteOut' rose. I was going to dig it out and then relented. To my  
surprise and delight, new leaves came up pristine and the plant  
bloomed. This year it's fine. So I'm hoping this might happen with the  
caryopteris. In the meantime I have two gaping holes in the middle of  
the big border in front of my house. Arrrgh.

Carolyn Ulrich
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