Please help: Texas privet (Ligustrum japonicum) dropping leaves and dying

[MtotheC]

Hello,

I'm new here, so hi everyone.
I'm in serious need of help. I've had Texas privet lining my back fence for a little less than 1 year now. There were approx 60 plants put in, with all new soil, proper irrigation, drainage, and fertilizer. Of the 60, one right away started just dropping all of it's leaves. It happened to be one of the extras I had, so I didn't think much of it, but then I had another do the same thing.

The plant was otherwise completely healthy, new leave growth, flowers, etc. but suddenly would start thinning out on the inside. Branches fully bare and it would eventually take out the whole plant. This then seems to happen to the plants right around those ones (not the others). This has now taken out about 10 of my plants and looks to be spreading more to the ones around those.

Soil seems to be getting the right amount of water, most of the other plants are totally healthy.
I've tried treating with Neem oil multiple times.
No visible signs of fungus.

Thanks in advance!

 

[oneeye]

A few different reasons can cause leaf drop. If you see no insects then there's no need for neem.

 

[oneeye]

I remember planting 20 large Nellie R. Stevens hollies on a big job in Ft. Worth. About 6 months later I got a call back that something was wrong with the plants and a few were dropping there leaves. When I got there, most of the plants were almost dead. What I did was remove one of the dead plants completely out of the ground to see what the problem was. My intentions were to get a deep soil test and a leaf tissue sample to send to the labs to find out why this happened. When I pulled the dead plant out of the ground, I found the answer what the problem was. No water! They didn't water the trees deep enough to get to the bottom of the root ball wet. Dry as a bone!!! The holes were knee deep and needed a deep watering a couple times a week to keep the plant hydrated. I had to replace everyone of them at the owners expense because they are responsible for watering. Dig your infected privet up and get a look at the bottom of the hole and see if its dry or wet and you will find the answer.

 

[MtotheC]

A few different reasons can cause leaf drop. If you see no insects then there's no need for neem.

Thanks!
So there are a lot of little flying bugs in the yard and around some of the plants. Some crawling ones even visible on the leaves. While I don't think it's the main cause, I feel like it could be a contributing factor.

 

[MtotheC]

I remember planting 20 large Nellie R. Stevens hollies on a big job in Ft. Worth. About 6 months later I got a call back that something was wrong with the plants and a few were dropping there leaves. When I got there, most of the plants were almost dead. What I did was remove one of the dead plants completely out of the ground to see what the problem was. My intentions were to get a deep soil test and a leaf tissue sample to send to the labs to find out why this happened. When I pulled the dead plant out of the ground, I found the answer what the problem was. No water! They didn't water the trees deep enough to get to the bottom of the root ball wet. Dry as a bone!!! The holes were knee deep and needed a deep watering a couple times a week to keep the plant hydrated. I had to replace everyone of them at the owners expense because they are responsible for watering. Dig your infected privet up and get a look at the bottom of the hole and see if its dry or wet and you will find the answer.

Thanks for your response.

I have now dug up about 14 of them. Soil seems pretty moist even down low.
The other point is, there are another 80 (I know initially I said 60 total, but there were 90 total) that are on the same watering system and are fine. This seems to spread to the ones around it.

That said, I will water more...

 

[MtotheC]

I'm trying now to aggressively start removing any that starts dropping leaves. I'm also going to start removing some of the lower branches so there is good air flow at the bottom of the hedges.
One thing that kept coming up in searches was honey fungus. I don't know much about it, but sounds like it could be the cause.

 

[oneeye]

Thanks!
So there are a lot of little flying bugs in the yard and around some of the plants. Some crawling ones even visible on the leaves. While I don't think it's the main cause, I feel like it could be a contributing factor.

Insects mostly attack plants that are weak and diseased. That tells me you are losing your plants.

 

[oneeye]

I'm trying now to aggressively start removing any that starts dropping leaves. I'm also going to start removing some of the lower branches so there is good air flow at the bottom of the hedges.
One thing that kept coming up in searches was honey fungus. I don't know much about it, but sounds like it could be the cause.

Fungus begins with watering issues.

 

[oneeye]

Thanks for your response.

I have now dug up about 14 of them. Soil seems pretty moist even down low.
The other point is, there are another 80 (I know initially I said 60 total, but there were 90 total) that are on the same watering system and are fine. This seems to spread to the ones around it.

That said, I will water more...

What is your watering system, because that is where your problem is coming from. I can see now looking at the plants your leaf drop was uniform. A drought leaf drop due to drought starts at the bottom and slowly works its way up. Ligustrum japonicum are drought tolerant, and if they are over watered when they are young, it is susceptible to root rot if it is constantly kept in soggy or wet soil. Cut your watering for now since its raining a lot, it will only get worse.

 

[MtotheC]

I have a drip line that the architect installed. I believe it's .9GPH and I typically water every 3-4 days for 35 min.
Last week I didn't water for 10 days and that is when another handful of trees started dropping leaves. I'm going to try to get a professional out to the house. Will let you know what he says. Thanks!

 

[oneeye]

I have a drip line that the architect installed. I believe it's .9GPH and I typically water every 3-4 days for 35 min.
Last week I didn't water for 10 days and that is when another handful of trees started dropping leaves. I'm going to try to get a professional out to the house. Will let you know what he says. Thanks!

Its definitely a water management issue.