Dying or diseased Privet Hedge

Hi

I would appreciate any help or pointers on my hedge...it is 18years.old and been totally fine until this year...now 2 of the rooted.bushes seem completely dead and it appears to.be spreading as per the pics.

I don't even know.what type of bush it is and whether worth digging out the dead 2 and could be replaced

Many thanks

 

Dunno, but not sure its privet.
A true ID would perhaps help diagnose the problem, a closer pic might help.

 

A few more.pics

Close up.of the leaves
Distance of to show the original dead patch
Close puof the dead patch

 

thanks Ive added a few more

 

thanks, added a few more pics

 

Agree with @pete Not sure it's privet, privet is pretty indestructible, but if is privet and there's been some strong weedkiller put down to close to the roots that could cause some problems.

 

Escallonia ?

 

Yes, could be.

 

Thanks all...any ideas for treatment or is it a gonner?
Ive cleared all the base and added some fish, blood and bone fertilizer as I saw somewhere on here - but the dead parts the wood seems totally dead not just bear of leaves.

 

Hi mgkelly. If you are confidant that the shrub is dead, then grub it out (remove it completely). The actual cause of the death can be the result of various causes. Often for plants/shrubs forming a hedge, and only one or two plants suffer, can often be pinpointed at. Drought, basically the lack of water reaching the roots. Wind and sun burn, also hale.

Then of course other problems such as disease creeps into the picture. Insect, various types of aphids, fungal, viral infections and bacterial problems. Not always an easy situation to solve.

Personally I wouldn't have used any fertilizer at this stage. Perhaps a point to remember. NEVER feed a sick or ailing plant. The chemical overload can and so often has the reverse affect. Not know the cause of death. I would set about removing the roots and also as much soil as possible. This can help in getting rid of soil borne diseases etc. Add fress soil/compost having the right pH balance for the plant, acidic or alkaline. Keep the ground well watered for the whole hedge area. Once you are satisfied that there's no more dying,then consider obtaining replacements. I hope this helps. Please ask more help if needed. Happy gardening.

 

Welcome mgkelly.

Yes, that's Escallonia. You can check by crushing a couple of leaves which will have a citrus smell.



I think the problem is lack of water. I noticed there is ground cover at the base of the hedge. I would start by removing all of it and giving the ground a good soaking. I doubt whether those central shrubs are still alive but you can check by scraping a few stems to see if they are still green inside.

 

Thanks all....will give it a go

 

I'd look up Honeyfungus .

 

A few years back escallonias suffered like that down here. Didn’t know if it was a pest, disease, the weather or what!

However, the answer in many cases was simply to hard prune them. It’s what I did.
Escallonias cope well with dry weather I find......escallonia Iveyi for example grows in a very dry spot in impoverished soil here that never gets artificial watering yet it thrives. This was one I pruned back hard (as above)

 

I agree Verdun which is why they grow well in coastal areas. But i think mgkelly's hedge has been starved of water because of the ground cover and possibly started to suffer in the dry summer of last year.