Boston Ivy catastrophe

For the past 25 years a beautiful Boston Ivy (parthenocissus tricuspidata) has grown over our house spreading at least 15 to 20 metres over the ironstone walls. Each spring it has been covered with fresh green leaves turning to a rich red in the autumn before tumbling off. Last year it was the same as usual.

In mid April this year the buds started forming as usual, but that was as far as they got. All the buds just died on the spot. Some have opened in a couple of areas of the plant but they have formed a few very weak, sickly leaves which look as if they will not live long; a few buds have half opened but have not developed further; 99% of the plant is just bare.

What has happened? Is there anything I can do to rescue it? Scratching the bark shows green under the surface, so there is still some life left. The roots spread under a stone paved patio which has been there for the last 10 years. All the books say that there are no real diseases of Boston Ivy - they certainly don't describe anything that would kill it so quickly. Any advice would be gratefully received. ( I could post photos if that would help).

 

Photos may be a good idea, but two things that spring to mind that could account for the no-show of leaves. The first would be the weather over the winter, it may have just damaged the buds/some of the stems, the second being water, and perhaps a lack of it. It is a good sign that it is green just under the bark, so all is not lost yet!

I would contemplate giving it a feed with what ever you normally use around the garden, and plenty of water to see if it picks up. I would also see if there were any places where it could be trimmed down so that the plant is under less stress, as there are less leaf points that need filling.

Hope this Helps!

 

Thanks plant1star for your advice. I wondered myself that it could be lack of water, as there were a lot of drying winds in April, so earlier this week I put the hose pipe on it for 24 hours. I also put a couple of handfuls of Growmore near the base. Perhaps it will pick up.

It's not very easy to trim it back, but I'll have a go.

Have got some photos but don't know how to put them into this reply yet - will work on it.

 

Here are the photos as promised.

 

I rekon its been knocked back by the cold winter, either that or perhaps something leaching into the soil, are you by a road were there could be salt run off?

 

There's no chance of it being road salt, but the edge of the lawn is about 5 metres away and that was treated (by a professional company) at the beginning of March for weeds and moss. Could that be a cause? There is no sign of damage to any other plants or shrubs bordering the lawn though.

A thought - could Honey Fungus do this?

Incidently I forgot to mention that the third one of my photos is of the same patch of wall in September last year.

 

Brian I would say this is your problem.