Recently moved fatsia - is it dead, dying or napping?

Hi all

We had our small garden overhauled in December/January and our gardeners moved our very well established fatsia (10+ years) to another spot in the garden.

They also changed its angling to be more straight up, rather than leaning into the garden. They did not change its aspect; it has always been on the east side of the yard and caught the late morning/early afternoon sun.

Since the move, it has just got progressively unhappier looking. Please see photos:

• Leaves are almost all wilted
• Many are curling
• Black spots on leaves
• Clearly being eaten by something too

After the move, I have been watering it (as I was advised to) - hopefully not overwatering it, but that is a distinct possibility.

As you can see in the photos, there is one leaf on the top that hasn't wilted.

There is a also a small healthy looking leaf sticking out near the base, but this has been there for a while now and not grown or changed. The rest of the garden is doing well and has shot up in the recent warm spurt, but the fatsia isn't showing any new life or positive response yet.

In the photos, I have also taken a few of the soil at the top and around the roots so you can hopefully see if I might have overwatered it.

I would really really appreciate any guidance around what may be the problem and what, if anything, I can do to help it.

Thank you!

 

@Ivo Whereabouts are you in the UK?
Firstly Dec/Jan not a good time to move something in leaf; probably better to wait until spring or to have done it earlier.
The problem is "transplant shock" as you cannot move a plant without damaging the roots, to a greater or lesser extent. This damaged/reduced root system cannot supply sufficient water to support the foliage.
So I would initially remove all the flower heads and the wilted/damaged leaves. Depending on how it recovers you might need to prune some of the branches off.
The fact that it has shoots is good that shows it is recovering. You probably won't see much growth until the weather gets a bit warmer.
Maybe ease up on the watering and water when we have a dry period.

 

Looks to be a big old plant to be moving.

 

Thanks @NigelJ - that's really helpful! I'm around Brighton, so lots of sea air and gusty winds (and the extra strong winds of the last few months!).

I'll prune off the flower heads at the base with clean shears.

For the leaves, is it better to pull them away from where they connect to the branch (as if the leaf had fallen off) or to cut at the base?

If I were to prune the branches, how far down do you think might be good? Or shall I keep an eye on it for the next weeks after tidying up the leaves and flowers and update?

Thank again! I thought the fatsia was unflappable and would be really sad to see it go.

 

@Ivo Leaves I would cut off close to the stem.
As for pruning I would wait until you see how it recovers and then cut back any branches that aren't growing to a good shoot.
Then step back and look at how it is fitting in to it's new space before deciding about removing branches completely.

 

Thanks @NigelJ! I'll get stuck in this weekend and hope for the best.

 

Hi all - an update and some newbie questions...

After my last post - thanks @NigelJ! - I went to town on removing wilted, drying, curling or mostly-eaten leaves. I think that took about 2/3rds of the leaves off. I also slightly cut back one branch (took about 2 inches off the top to get it down to just above the one leaf I left). Apart from the rains, I haven't watered.

Below are the latest photos from this morning. So far, I still haven't seen any new growth or improvement. Some of the smaller leaves still have some bounce, but the shoots at the top now have dark tips. The one branch I cut back looks dry at the end.

The little leaf I photoed poking through near the base is still there but hasn't grown and looks a bit dry/faded. The photo looks a bit greener because of my phone's tendency to make things look more colourful than they are.

I know it's only been two weeks and the weather hasn't been that great, but I'm not sure how quickly I can I hope to see some improvement - if the fatsia is even salvageable.

So, the newbie questions...

• Should I water it or keep leaving it as dry as the weather allows?
• Should I remove more leaves now that more are wilting? Are they all putting too much strain on the plant?
• How long might it take to see improvement/action? Am I being impatient?
• If the fatsia does recover, will the wilting leaves perk up (like my peace lily does)? Or should I just be focused on new growth?

Thank you!!

Full view...


The top of the branch I cut...


Some bounce still at the top...


But still a fair few bigger leaves - am I overloading this branch?


Dark tips on shoots...


Looking paler/dryer than two weeks ago...


Keeping an eye on this branch which look a bit less bad...

 

I think it has a chance, it could take a couple of months before it does much.
There could be a lot of die back, I'm thinking, and probably a couple of years before it completely recovers.

Be careful not to over water, not sure about the wilted leaves recovering, I think they will be insignificant once and it you get new growth.

 

@Ivo The dark tips are possibly down to the cold winds we've had recently. Like Pete I don't think the wilted leaves will recover.
As for how long to wait before you see something happening? If we get a decent summer then I'd have thought by the end of June.
Watering I'd say if it goes three weeks or so with no rain then give it a good soak and then leave it for the soil to dry out.

 

Thanks @pete and @NigelJ - really appreciate all your advice. I'll try to just leave it alone for a while now and hope for the best. Really useful to understand this could take months before any visible improvement.