Re: wilt on Caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue'

**"* C* <d*@gmail.com>**

I have a caryopteris  that was well established for several years and then 
succumbed as you describe. That was five or six years ago, and the shrub 
still clings to life though much demised. Similar symptoms his a gorgeous 
daphne nearby, and that did not survive. As a young gardener I compulsively 
tried to nail down exactly what happened. As an older gardener I accept what 
happened and plant something else.

Duane Campbell
Syndicated garden columnist
Author: Best of Green Space; 30 Years of Composted Columns

-----Original Message----- 
From: Carolyn Ulrich
Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 12:10 PM
To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
Subject: [GWL] wilt on Caryopteris 'Sunshine Blue'

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
_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
GWL list website  http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
GWL has searchable message archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
If you have photos for GWL, send them to gwlphotos@hort.net and they can be 
viewed at  http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos 

_______________________________________________
gardenwriters mailing list
gardenwriters@lists.ibiblio.org
http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/gardenwriters
GWL list website  http://www.ibiblio.org/gardenwriters
GWL has searchable message archives at:
http://www.hort.net/lists/gardenwriters
If you have photos for GWL, send them to gwlphotos@hort.net and they can be viewed at  http://www.hort.net/lists/gwlphotos