Mine look like that after a real cold night but always spring back up if it is warm later in the day. Hope this helps.
Jill

Thanks - the leaves on mine have actually stayed like this all winter. :(

Phillip, I'm a bit farther south than you (zone 8) just north of Montgomery. I've had acuba planted for years, and never seen mine look like that. Could it be because of the warmer zone? Although, we do have some very cold weather here. I really don't think its the cold. If it didn't start showing signs of improvement shortly, I'd seriously think about cutting it back. I prune mine when they get too large, and they grow like mad, with no problem. Wish I could be of more help. :)
Jan

Phillip,
You may want to read up on

Here is a link that might be useful: Aucuba disease and disorders

Philip...I'm thinking that maybe the wilt on your Aucuba could be from a 'dry' root ball....Sometimes after transplanting if the rootbal has compacted soil around it, like maybe some hard clay or something, then it will actually REPEL water. I.e., it no longer absorbs it.

You might want to take a trowel and just dig down around the rootball and see if it is dry in there. If is is, then you gotta find some way to get it saturated. A drip or soaker hose if probably one option. Also, if it is some kind of really hard clay or that notorious Alabama dirt, it may have to be gotten out of there completely. Out from around the rootball I mean.

remember....I am not saying this is what is wrong with your Aucuba.....just a suggestion of one of the possibilities.

Thanks for the suggestions and the link. Alabamajan, I will check and see what is going on under the surface. Looking at the link that Terramadre sent, it looks like it could be root rot. If I do decide to keep it, is it okay to cut these down to the ground?

Chances are, since you've observed this problem for several months, that your plant does have phytophthora. But, if you decide to wait and see what it does in the spring, these plants do respond very well to total rejuvenation pruning. The appearance of yours will be improved by that process, anyway! (I mean if it comes back full force, nice and full.)

In my experience, phytophthora prone plants (like Aucuba) end up having problems if the soil stays too moist for too long, if the site doesn't drain very well, if it's planted in a low spot, etc. This particular disease pathogen is prectically everywhere, in all soils, all over the world. But it doesn't become a problem for our plants unless something in the environment helps it (the disease) to do so.

maybe relocating the plant along with a hard cut-back,it might help.does this sound good to you?

If the plant is infected with the systemic disease we're THINKING it might be, it's pretty much over and out for that plant. Systemic vascular diseases of plants can't be cured....only prevented.

Note: this occurrence does not mean that the soil is 'tainted'. I wouldn't put another Aucuba in the same location because that happens to be a species prone to this disease. So is Pittosporum, for example. But I wouldn't be fearful of putting most anything else there.

Phillip just needs to understand that since phytophthora might be present, he needs to be careful about over-watering and/or drainage problems.

By the way, alabamajan's suggestion is totally reasonable, too. Phillip is the only one who can put the pieces of the puzzle together, lol!

I'm kind of leaning toward replacing it now. There is definately not a drainage problem in this area - in fact, it is planted on the top of a bank. I just remembered that I have another acuba planted in a different area of my garden that has done the same thing. I can't remember if I purchased them from the same nursery. Maybe my garden is just not hospitable to acubas!