Is my Privet ill?

I have noticed recently that some of my privet is turning yellow...photos attached below...

The leaves don't appear to manifest the symptoms of either "Wilt" (although one or two leaves are curling I wouldn't say all the leaves that manifest the yellow/brown/black colouration are curled) or "Honey Fungus" - not that I am by any means an expert - but does anyone have any idea what might be wrong with the plant?

The hedge was planted last November - rootballed at about 5ft tall - and has done well all summer.

I have noticed that, in general, the leaves that tend to display the brown/yellow/black tendency are the larger ones.

The stems are nice and green inside when you break one off...

Is it just natural wastage or should I be concerned?

Thanks.

 

The browning round the edge of the leaves (photo 1) would not bother me as it looks like natural wastage.

However, photo 2 looks different - maybe just be the photo - but it looks like browning WITHIN the leaf, rather than around the edges, and lots of leaves on the stem effected, rather than just the older leaves.

May be stress on the plants being new. 5' root-balled is quite a setback to a plant. I've planted hedges that big and used a leaky-hose along them and given them a good soaking (2 - 4 hours leaky hose running) once a week, possibly even twice a week in drought.

If it turns out to be stress feed and water well from next Spring onwards. I would plan to water for 2 to 3 seasons (however, you do want the roots to grow down and find water, hence best to Soak and then not water again for a while, rather than to water little-and-often (which will encourage the roots "up" to where they think the water is!)

I don't know about possible diseases so can't contribute anything useful on that, sorry.

 

Many thanks for your input folks.

We did figure it needed quite a bit of water during the summer and often had the sprinkler on it. The soil is rubbish and includes a lot of clay.

I don't think we pruned it correctly as most of the growth came at the top of the plant whereas we were trying to encourage it further down the trunk/stem.

However, it has looked healthy all year except relatively recently whereupon some of the plants that comprsie the hedge started to manifest a yellow tinge with the leaves as shown.

I'll do as you say.

Would it be worth fertilising/feeding it now with something?

 

"Would it be worth fertilising/feeding it now with something?"

No, best NOT to encourage it into growth during the Winter. Possible something to feed / encourage the roots might help but I would leave it alone (unless anyone else has suggestions?)

"often had the sprinkler on it"

I just want to check that was doing a good job. You need to get water into the area where the roots are, and give them a thorough soaking. Rootballed won't have roots that extend very far from the original size of the rootballs when you got them - for a year or two. What was the diameter of the rootball? - a foot or 18-inches? so you need to get that narrow strip, under the hedge, irrigated during the Summer. If your sprinkler is spraying a larger area then that won't get enough onto the root-area. I like the leaky-hose as you can plug it in and forget about it for an hours or so (depending on how long your hedge row is) but that costs money of course, and alternatively you could just let the water run out of the end of the hose and just keep moving the hose along to each plant - although you will have to stand there of course !! - but you could perhaps do a bit of weeding at the same time