Whole plant turned brown after rain storm. Help.

[gardeningforumsfan]

This plant (I forgot the name) used to be the "crown jewel" of my garden. It was so strong and near maintenance free but everything went south after a rare rain storm in Southern California a month ago. The whole plant turned brown all of a sudden and it's been like this since then. I tried adjusting the water level but to no avail. The leaves fluctuate from soft / brown to crunchy / brown but never green. The good picture is from my neighbor's yard to give you an idea what my plant used to look like. Any advice? Thanks.

 

[cpp gardener]

I don't think it was the rain that killed it. How long has it been planted there? Was the fence there when you planted it? What type of soil do you have? Does it tend to stay wet for long periods of time? How often do you normally water it? With a sprinkler system or by hand? Have you fed it recently?

 

[Chuck]

First of all, I would make sure that it is really dead. Scratch the bark and see if there is any greenish color. If there is it is not dead yet and might be able to recover. This does not look like herbicide damage but it could be. Normally herbicide damage shows as deformed leaves but it is possible for this to not be the case, depending on the herbicide. This rain storm you had, did it involve running water from neighboring properties? Is the soil a loose sandy type soil, soil that water will travel through easily? If so, it could be herbicide transference from somewhere else. Just make sure that the plant is dead first and if not do this. Go get a product called Super Thrive and use as directed. This is strange stuff as I have personally seen it revive a tree that I would have sworn was dead.

 

[gardeningforumsfan]

I don't think it was the rain that killed it. How long has it been planted there? Was the fence there when you planted it? What type of soil do you have? Does it tend to stay wet for long periods of time? How often do you normally water it? With a sprinkler system or by hand? Have you fed it recently?

It was planted there 3 years ago with the fence. I think it's sandy soil with mulch on top and stays moderately wet most of the time. I have underground sprinkler system and water it once a day for 1 minute. The rest of my garden running on the same sprinkler system looks spectacular. GIven the crunchy leaves I start to water it manually (in addition to the sprinkler system) with a garden hose and nozzle on "shower" setting to give it an extra drink daily.

 

[gardeningforumsfan]

First of all, I would make sure that it is really dead. Scratch the bark and see if there is any greenish color. If there is it is not dead yet and might be able to recover. This does not look like herbicide damage but it could be. Normally herbicide damage shows as deformed leaves but it is possible for this to not be the case, depending on the herbicide. This rain storm you had, did it involve running water from neighboring properties? Is the soil a loose sandy type soil, soil that water will travel through easily? If so, it could be herbicide transference from somewhere else. Just make sure that the plant is dead first and if not do this. Go get a product called Super Thrive and use as directed. This is strange stuff as I have personally seen it revive a tree that I would have sworn was dead.

There were some green shoots a while back after I started to water it manually so it's not dead. I back off a bit after noticing the leaves were soft but brown. Now the leaves are back to crunchy again indicating the lack of water. I just ordered Super Thrive and going to put the plant on "intensive care".

 

[cpp gardener]

More than likely it is dead. Once the leaves on Leucadendron turn crispy, the plant is gone.
Even though the rest of the garden is fine, your watering practices seem way out of line. Watering frequently and very lightly doesn't give the plant sufficient moisture unless the location is fairly humid with frequent fog or high clouds. A schedule more like 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week is the normal recommendation. This is considerably more water, but allows for a deep soak with a drier period in between. Does your garden consist of mostly succulents or other desert plants? I question the soil being particularly sandy if it stays moderately wet most of the time. Normally a sandy soil dries out very quickly even with mulch on top, especially with a schedule and duration you describe.

 

[gardeningforumsfan]

More than likely it is dead. Once the leaves on Leucadendron turn crispy, the plant is gone.
Even though the rest of the garden is fine, your watering practices seem way out of line. Watering frequently and very lightly doesn't give the plant sufficient moisture unless the location is fairly humid with frequent fog or high clouds. A schedule more like 20-30 minutes 2-3 times a week is the normal recommendation. This is considerably more water, but allows for a deep soak with a drier period in between. Does your garden consist of mostly succulents or other desert plants? I question the soil being particularly sandy if it stays moderately wet most of the time. Normally a sandy soil dries out very quickly even with mulch on top, especially with a schedule and duration you describe.

Yes only drought tolerant plants due to the lack of rainfall here in Southern California. I made sure the soil always stays in the "moist" range on the hygrometer after noticing browning. BTW, it's a flower bed built on a new home construction 3 years ago so the soil isn't very deep.

 

[gardeningforumsfan]

Dead? Anyway I gave it some Super Thrive as a last ditch effort to revive it.

 

[Chuck]

The pictures show dead but if there is any life left in the roots the Super Thrive will work. And if it does work, what then? You still don't know what really happened. Dig up a little area close to the plant and look at the soil and make sure you know what you have. Dig deeper than the fill dirt the home builders put in so as to know exactly what you have. If it is a type of clay you might have been watering too much and if loose sandy soil not enough. You cannot judge by what is directly under the mulch

 

[gardeningforumsfan]

I cleared the mulch and here are some pictures showing the dirt at top level and slightly deeper at root level. The crunchy leaves are starting to soften up after deeper watering and with daily tsp of Super Thrive. A small step in the right direction.