Pic taken today May18, 2017
Gardening "mountain fire Japanese pieris " plant problem
by
Delie
+3
I planted it in my garden last fall when it was very healthy but it has spent the winter under a heavy snowfall. Right now most of the snow has melted but the plant doesn't look very healthy. Yes that is melting snow just behind it. I fear it is sitting in water. Should I move it or is it too late?
I would just leave it.Transplanting could send it into shock.Let mother nature do what it is suppose to.
It seems like this is how it Wintered and will soon come out of it, new stems should be sprouting and will take on a new look. Some plant food and mulch might help, but go lightly on the plant food, let us know how it goes.
So, you think mulch will help. Would it help if I put evergreen tree branches on the ground around it also? The soil is really soggy.
First make sure you are in the right zone for this shrub. Next leave it alone . The leaves may be reflecting something like freezer burn and it will produce new leaves in the spring.. It may have gotten too cold before it was mature enough to handle the cold. Then as you said, if it's in an area that doesn't drain well it may be waterlogged. if so it's probably too late. Our yard is clay based and I've lost too many plants to this my self. I raised a dogwood up into a box last fall that struggled through the spring. It didn't survive even though it was doing well, or at least I thought it was. One more thing you can check right now is if it is too deep in the ground or if there is too much mulch type product against the base of the trunk. That can weaken the shrub. If you see that, just pull it away from the trunk. Don't strip the ground of mulch it looks like it's too early for that in your area. I wouldn't do anything drastic to the shrub until you are well past your last frost date, just in case. BTW, I've had one of these shrubs out in my front yard. Its a better drier area for about three years. It's struggled and I thought it would die several times. This year for the first time it's putting out new growth and looks good. I have no idea why. I've seen beautiful full bushes in our area.