Shrubbery Bushes Losing Green Tops, Oak Tree With Green Schrubery Growing On It - Ask Extension
Why am I Losing my green schrubbery at the top of my bushes. And why do I have green schrubbery growing in my back yard up tall oak tree?
Knowledgebase
Shrubbery Bushes Losing Green Tops, Oak Tree With Green Schrubery Growing On It #719483
Asked August 31, 2020, 3:00 PM EDT
Why am I Losing my green schrubbery at the top of my bushes. And why do I have green schrubbery growing in my back yard up tall oak tree?
Prince George's County Maryland
Expert Response
We cannot see the leafless shrubs clearly enough to determine what species they are (there's also too little foliage left to make this simple), but they will not recover from this level of leaf loss and will need to be removed/replaced. Few conifers (needled evergreens like this) tolerate shade well and will gradually shed leaves as a result. Few also tolerate shearing and will similarly lose leaves over time as inner branches become older and less able to produce new leaves they longer they are kept trimmed. This appears to simply be a matter of the wrong plant in the wrong place; we do not see signs of pests or any above-ground diseases. Below-ground, if this area is on the wet side, root rot may have exacerbated the situation. The other evergreen nearby looks like an azalea; if so, its good growth suggests this site is on the shady side. Based on what we can see of the foliage, our best guess is that the leafless shrubs are a type of Juniper (Juniperus) or Falsecypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera squarrosa).
The growth on the oak tree looks like an invasive vine - whether English Ivy (Hedera helix) or Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) we cannot see, though it looks a bit more like the latter in habit. Both creep along the ground unless they find something to climb; when old enough, the stems clinging to the structure they're climbing develop "branches" that can reach out from the surface several feet. It is here that they begin to flower and produce berries (not all of which are obvious) and spread via birds to new areas (birds eat the fruits and poop-out the seeds).
Both are aggressive non-native evergreens which often climb tree trunks and eventually damage trees with their weight and light blockage. If you can confirm the vine's ID with information on the pages below, we recommend removing it by cutting all stems within reach and letting the top part of the vine die over time. (They cling to bark but are not parasites and do not grow into the trunk itself, so once they lose their root connection, they will begin to dry out and starve.)
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/english-ivy
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/2190
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/winter-creeper-euonymus
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=2222
If your tree vine doesn't seem to match either of the above, you're welcome to send additional pictures for ID. We would need close-ups of the foliage, which you can attach to this reply.
Miri
The growth on the oak tree looks like an invasive vine - whether English Ivy (Hedera helix) or Wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei) we cannot see, though it looks a bit more like the latter in habit. Both creep along the ground unless they find something to climb; when old enough, the stems clinging to the structure they're climbing develop "branches" that can reach out from the surface several feet. It is here that they begin to flower and produce berries (not all of which are obvious) and spread via birds to new areas (birds eat the fruits and poop-out the seeds).
Both are aggressive non-native evergreens which often climb tree trunks and eventually damage trees with their weight and light blockage. If you can confirm the vine's ID with information on the pages below, we recommend removing it by cutting all stems within reach and letting the top part of the vine die over time. (They cling to bark but are not parasites and do not grow into the trunk itself, so once they lose their root connection, they will begin to dry out and starve.)
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/english-ivy
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/view/2190
https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/winter-creeper-euonymus
https://www.marylandbiodiversity.com/viewSpecies.php?species=2222
If your tree vine doesn't seem to match either of the above, you're welcome to send additional pictures for ID. We would need close-ups of the foliage, which you can attach to this reply.
Miri
