Dying Miss Kim Lilac Bushes - Ask Extension
My lilac bush flowered this year, but now the leaves are dried and curling.What can I do about this? Am I losing this shrub?It lives under a maple tre...
Knowledgebase
Dying Miss Kim Lilac Bushes #140735
Asked July 15, 2013, 10:14 AM EDT
My lilac bush flowered this year, but now the leaves are dried and curling.
What can I do about this? Am I losing this shrub?
It lives under a maple tree but leafs out and flowers before the maple leafs out every spring, and it gets sun during the day. I don't see bugs on it.
Thanks.
PS. Let me know if you need a photo.
What can I do about this? Am I losing this shrub?
It lives under a maple tree but leafs out and flowers before the maple leafs out every spring, and it gets sun during the day. I don't see bugs on it.
Thanks.
PS. Let me know if you need a photo.
Adams County Colorado
Expert Response
Is it a recent transplant? Is it getting enough water? Is it drip irrigated? It does sound like you may lose it unless the cause can be identified and corrected.
A photo might help, along with some history of the plant in your yard.
A photo might help, along with some history of the plant in your yard.
Thanks.
No, not a recent transplant. Has been there several years.
It gets plenty of water if the roots grow straight down or under the lawn.
No, not a recent transplant. Has been there several years.
It gets plenty of water if the roots grow straight down or under the lawn.
Thanks for photos. A couple guesses:
-check some of the lower stems with drying leaves....look for any holes in the lower stems about the size of a BB or this o . Check also for any sawdust on ground at the base of stems. Lilac-ash borers attack ash more often than lilac, but its a possibility.
-if this shrub is drip-irrigated, it could be that one emitter is no longer sufficient for a wider-spreading root system.
-if drip-irrigated, it could be that the emitter(s) for this lilac have been damaged or lines leading to emitters have been damaged by root expansion of the adjacent maple.
-check some of the lower stems with drying leaves....look for any holes in the lower stems about the size of a BB or this o . Check also for any sawdust on ground at the base of stems. Lilac-ash borers attack ash more often than lilac, but its a possibility.
-if this shrub is drip-irrigated, it could be that one emitter is no longer sufficient for a wider-spreading root system.
-if drip-irrigated, it could be that the emitter(s) for this lilac have been damaged or lines leading to emitters have been damaged by root expansion of the adjacent maple.
