We bought this house in 2004 and this was already well established and sizeable. The last few years, it hasn't been blooming as much and this year, it looks like this and has patches of something on it (last few photos).
I'm reading online that the life span is about 20-30 years, so there's probably nothing more to do for it, I'm guessing? Just wanted other opinions before we replaced it.
by NorthernLitUp
18 Comments
I don’t know, but I have one about the same age. It doesn’t have those patches, but I’m commenting to learn if someone else knows. I love mine and so do the pollinators!
The only thing you can do is prune away the dead branches or diseased branches. Has it been raining too much? Or not enough?
Too much water will kill these as well. Proper drainage helps a lot. Watering during drought will help.
It just might be at the end of it’s life. At least you will have a better view of your neighbors corn?
You sure that’s a Rose of Sharon? Looks like a lilac.
Looks like a a canker,probably fungus related. I’m no arborist but personally I’d cut it back below that canker and give it a proper much ring with some heavy watering.
Maybe a fungicide if I felt bold.
Any bugs or other signs of attack?
Shrubs generally decline and eventually die at some point, nothing lives forever. They rarely live more than 20 to 40 years. Considering how prolifically rose of sharon produces seed, I’d guess it is probably a shorter lived plant with an evolutionary strategy of fast reproduction rather than living for a long time.
That’s a lilac
Flower close up
https://imgur.com/a/EjqQlFm
Here is a bloom from my backyard – ton’s of “rose of sharon” plants.
[https://imgur.com/a/MnbR5BT](https://imgur.com/a/MnbR5BT)
My lilacs took a pretty hard hit this year, too, during the dry spell. They look very similar in condition.
Thank you all for the helpful suggestion for my LILAC bush. She’ll be getting a good pruning this winter and some mulch and fertilizer in the spring and we’ll hope for the best!
btw I recommend avoiding rose of sharon as it spreads EVERYWHERE😱
It’s dead no matter what it is. This winter. Cut it back to the root and cover it with wheat straw or dirt. Come spring, give it a good shot of miracle grow once every other week. Keep it watered and you might get new green out of the roots. If not, it’s stump grinding time.
I have both a rose of Sharon and a lilac. The blooms here are lilac.
Every couple of years lilac bushes should have the largest leaders removed to the ground. This encourages the smaller ones to grow and flower. If it’s not done they become leggy and flower less. Cut back all of the dead to the ground and large leads. Remove any weeds or grass near the base and make a little bed around it. Add some compost around the plant and in the spring feed it some 5-10-5 around the drip edge. It may take a couple years for it to fill in and flower better. Watch it for powdery mildew in the summer the leaves get a white haze on them, spray it with a mix of baking soda and water or a fungicide.
Probably used up nutrients . Fertilize and water
Why don’t you replant any new shoots, so when mine are dying back I cut and regrow
Those trees are so messy. Their blossoms fall all over my succulent rock garden and become slime and mold on plants. If it was not planted by my partners mother, I would cut it down.
Ask Sharon