ceanothus

I'm not 100% sure which variety of Ceanothus it is, but I planted one in my garden about 4 years ago now and it has grown really well since then, flowering a couple of times a year. What with all the frost, snow and cold we have been getting, I have noticed during the last few weeks (with flowering buds reading to start developing), that the whole plant...well most of the top anyway...has literally gone brown and the leaves all falling off.

I snapped one the branches and it was still green and am now wondering what to do. Should I just hack it back to nothing? or do you think it may be dead? I will try to find out the exact variety if this helps...I could even post a photo if that is best!
Thanks
Mark

 

see what happens in the spring....but my guess is it wont recover too well. Ceanothus are beautiful but fussy, they dont like pots, they dont like cold, they sometimes respond well to pruning they usually dont. Even when the doing well they get bare and woody at the base working up. The good news as you have seen is they grow quick, ive found thats the best way to look at ceanothus dont try and save a poor one replace and start again. My favourite varieties are Concha (the most intense blue flowers)and Blue Sapphire (a dark leaved form)

 

They do grow quite quickly, but don't respond well by being cut too far back, well, one of ours didn't.

 

I've come across a bit of a problem recently with Ceonothus also.
It gets brown leaves and it tends to spread, over a couple of years or so, eventually the plant dies.

I've not found out what it is yet.

Not sure which one you have Mark, bearing in mind it flowers twice a year, is it evergreen or deciduous?. I guess its evergreen.

They are not really long lived plants but 4yrs is a bit short.
A pic would be good.

Could it possibly be bad drainage???

 

Thanks for all the replies....certainly given me something to think about..as for the pic..looks like my it skills have failed me yet again..will def find out the exact variety by the end of the week! It is an evergreen (well it was!). It also was starting to go a bit leggy..wasn't really sure how to cut it back.

And as for the drainage; when my house was built I had terrible problems with the ground and they had to dig it up and put in plastic drainage pipes...I know that close by, where the plant grows are an awful lot of chippings underneath the ground so there could also be a lack of soil issue! Well I will see what happens as the weather improves...
The position is (not exactly sure) very sunny from about 12pm onwards...and the plants grow against a fence.... any suggestions what else I could try? not really one for 'little flowers' I am very much a shrub person..esp if it attracts wildlife. (But not my two cats!)