Alpine Currant leaves turning brown and falling off bush; plant is dying - Ask Extension
Hello, The leaves on my alpine currant bush are all turning golden brown and falling off despite my efforts to provide at least a gallon of water ea...
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Alpine Currant leaves turning brown and falling off bush; plant is dying #716094
Asked August 21, 2020, 4:13 PM EDT
Hello,
The leaves on my alpine currant bush are all turning golden brown and falling off despite my efforts to provide at least a gallon of water each morning. I'm in Bend and it has been hot with temps hovering in the low 90s and no rain for weeks. The currant is in the sun most of the day and is near two very mature junipers
My currant has been shedding brown leaves for weeks and I fear the bush is almost dead. What could be causing this and is there anything I can do at this stage?
Thanks
The leaves on my alpine currant bush are all turning golden brown and falling off despite my efforts to provide at least a gallon of water each morning. I'm in Bend and it has been hot with temps hovering in the low 90s and no rain for weeks. The currant is in the sun most of the day and is near two very mature junipers
My currant has been shedding brown leaves for weeks and I fear the bush is almost dead. What could be causing this and is there anything I can do at this stage?
Thanks
Deschutes County Oregon
Expert Response
Hello, thanks for introducing me to this plant. I can't say that I have ever seen one of these Alpine currants. If yours is the currant I researched, https://www.mortonarb.org/trees-plants/tree-plant-descriptions/alpine-currant, then it seems it should be hardy here.
Looking at the photo I have two thoughts. One is that it is just suffering from too much heat and sun. This is a European plant and the conditions it comes from is nothing like the high desert we live in. It may enjoy some shade, especially afternoon shade in our area.
The second thing that struck me is it may have spider mites. Look for fine webbing around the base of leaves and tiny, almost spider-like things on the leaves. Keeping the humidity up around the plant will help reduce spider mite invasions. Giving the plant a bath with a good hard stream of water once a week will really help control these pests as well as knock off aphids that might decide to feed on them.
Looking at the photo I have two thoughts. One is that it is just suffering from too much heat and sun. This is a European plant and the conditions it comes from is nothing like the high desert we live in. It may enjoy some shade, especially afternoon shade in our area.
The second thing that struck me is it may have spider mites. Look for fine webbing around the base of leaves and tiny, almost spider-like things on the leaves. Keeping the humidity up around the plant will help reduce spider mite invasions. Giving the plant a bath with a good hard stream of water once a week will really help control these pests as well as knock off aphids that might decide to feed on them.
