Sick Brazilian Bell Flower

[Richard Neylan]

hi to all - my beautiful Brazilian Bell Flower looks like it is dying (if not already) - it has only happened in the last couple of weeks, after having been perfectly happy for the last couple of years. It has been watered and fed regularly, and i have done nothing differently. I have aerated the soil, but dont know if there is anything else i can do - any advice please ?

 

[Meadowlark]

Welcome!

One way to quickly determine if it is dead or not is to scratch the bark with fingernail looking for green. If no green found anywhere on the plant, it is dead.

 

[Chuck]

Did it defoliate like this within the past two weeks and has it lost its leaves in the past? This looks somewhat like herbicide drift poisoning but I doubt if it is. Scratch the bark off of different parts of the plant. If there is any greenish color in the cambium layer the plant is still alive and if it is a brownish color that part of the plant is dead. If the trunk is greenish and some of the top is greenish it can come back. One thing in your favor is that the leaves have mostly dropped and not many are still hanging on. The first thing I would do is remove the plant from the pot and see if it is rootbound. If it is repot into a larger container. If it is not rootbound obtain a product called SuperThrive and use as directed.

 

[oneeye]

Start breaking wood to see if your plant is still alive. If all the wood is dead you may have lost the plant. If you hit some green in the stems then your plant is still alive. You have it planted too deep in the container friend. Remove the top 4 inches from the top of the soil. Replace with some new composted amendments to revive the plant when the temps warm up in Spring. Keep the top of the plant soil aerated well with a hand cultivator.

 

[cpp gardener]

Considering it’s Summer and it should be lush and green, I think you have lost it. Still, starting at the tips and checking for green is the best you can do now.

 

[Richard Neylan]

thank you to everyone for their advice - i discovered on the weekend that the one of the (2) weepholes was blocked and the soil was very wet, so have drilled about half a dozen more to assist with drainage. i have broken off quite a few stems and reasonable confident that it is not dead (fingers crossed). Very happy that i have finally joined a forum as i have lots of questions - rose questions next - cheers, Richard