Wisteria leaves wilting/dying -- any idea why?

15 years ago

I have a wisteria I planted last spring, grew like gang busters last summer, the leaves came out this late spring but now they're wilting and dying. The plant has been getting plenty of water from mother nature here in the Tacoma/Seattle area and the soil drains well.

We had a very long harsh winter here -- we had a few warm days about 3 weeks ago that got plants like this to leaf out but then temps went cold again for awhile then recently it's warming up a bit again but the plant looks terrible.

I'm wondering if others have seen this wilting/leaf dying behavior and if it could be due to temps swinging so much here or other factors?

Featured Answer

meyermike_1micha

14 years ago

Check the roots? Pictures are worth a thousand words.

Are you sure they are dying? How about the trunk? If, if it is dead, after you scarpe the bark to make sure their is no green,and it is brittle, cut it down to the ground and see if you have a borer in it. It could possibly be blight to.
Do you have a pic?
Just to be on the safe side, I had one starting to do the same last year, and I fed it Bayer Systemic as soon as I noticed a change on it. It stopped what ever it was, and I never found out.
But the neighbor down the street starting loosing his this way, a couple years back, and he found something was eating his roots up to the trunk..Strange ha. The roots were being chewed away

Do you get alot of cloudy days? Rain? Cool weather this year? Could be a fungus causing all your leafs to drop such as what happened to all my roses this year. It may look dead, but the roots may be alive.
Is the sun hot there? Do you get lots of cloudy days, then when the sun comes out, it burns the leaves not use to the heat. That has happened to alot of my plants this year.

I hope there is not some new strain of insect or killing virus out on these such as our local maples. This weather has been known to breed strange things lately.. My plants are doing all kinds of strange things. Sheesh.
Goodluck!

Comments (15)

jimshy
15 years ago
Sure, it could be the hot/cold thing we've all been getting this spring, but it could also be too much water at the roots -- does the soil stay wet for extended periods of time? Also, is it just the new growth that's wilting, or is it all over?

Hang in there and see if the plant doesn't recover when the temps stay warmer, wisterias are pretty tough critters!

Jim
ellbee63
15 years ago
My Wisteria is doing the same thing! It's a well established plant that does well every year but this July something has caused it to completely turn brown...every leaf! It looks like it's dead but I'm hoping it will recover. I really don't know what's caused this or what to do about it. I know our weather hasn't been great but it hasn't been so extreme as to cause this kind of thing! Very strange.
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Wayne Reibold
Original Author
15 years ago
Mine never came back, it is clearly dead. I have a couple of others on the property that are doing fine but no blooms.
jancisloveshorses_hotmail_com
14 years ago
I have a wisteria about 6 years old and this year it was covered with blooms but a couple of weeks ago the leaves, which never got to look mature, started to wilt and get brown and crunchy. We had a very dry June and the roots have not been sitting wet ground. We did have a hard winter
west_annmarie_yahoo_co_uk
12 years ago
Hi,im hoping that someone will see my desperate message.... I too have a wisteria which i have had for 7 years,it's lives in a sunny position within the gardena and gets plenty of water but it has never bloomed. Then this year i noticed that it was producing something different, it could only be buds.....A couple of weeks later i noticed that the leaves and buds were not maturing eek!!!! I have contacted the local garden centres but they are clueless. On an overall inspection of my wisteria, i noticed that some of the branches are very brittle and snap easily, also the buds turn to powder when touched. I have scrapped back the bark around the lower trunk , but i really cant tell if it's dead OMG!!!!! the thing is its quite large now on scale and i really do not want to dig it up if possible. i would be gratefull for any advice, thanks mrs latham
meyermike_1micha
12 years ago
I am seriously starting to think that there is some mold or other type of disease attacking these plants! I too have had one for many years, HUGE in fact and this year, all of a sudden half the branches are dried and brittle. No life.

It is as if a parasite has attacked it. I hope we find out what has happened. I think I am going to loose mine too:-(
21stcentury1942_att_net
12 years ago
My wisteria is 4 hears old finally bloomed this spring, was pruned and now is wilting and dying bark is green, and ideas? Can it be treated?
Guelphgardener
12 years ago
To my shock and dismay the wisteria I have been coaxing along for 9 years (!) and finally made it to the top of my trellis and actually produced blooms last summer is suddenly dying: all the leaves are turning dry & limp; I checked the base of the trunk, which is positioned close to a downspout, and part of it is riddled with holes and crumbly. About half is firm (the trunk is about 2 inches in diameter). I always thought that the downspout location was a good thing--maximize water--but now I suspect I was mistaken. Or is it a fungus? I see bugs around it too. We've had a LOT of rain this spring. Any suggestions out there for what I can do? I SO hope I can still save it!
ernmaj_msn_com
12 years ago
I am having the same problem all of a sudden the leaves wilted and dried
it looks like its dead but I am hoping it could be saved, it about 9 years old and always looked so beautiful.I hope some one can help.
thanks.
Rich_SunnySky_us
12 years ago
I'm thinking some fungus or bug. Have one 25+ yrs old, babied and trained to trail under eaves for 50-60 feet in two directions. Took 7 yrs to bloom and did great until this year which produced only a few and small ones. For 4-5 weeks now its leaves have been turning and it appears to be dying. Everything else around it is doing well: flowers, bulbs, roses, other vines, grass. A mystery, and heartbreaking. Will check around neighborhood to see if there's some kind of wisteria plague spreading.
Judy Curtis
5 years ago
I had a wisteria about 5 or 6 years old...It finally bloomed 2 years ago, then nothing last year..and it was an extremely hot summer.....it looked sick, leaves were yellow, no flowers...Now this year its dead...And I had an arbor built for it...I just bought 2 more... Will keep trying...
Syphe Syahphay
5 years ago
I just purchased a 20 yr old white wisteria and planted in my back yard and lots of sunlight. Most of the leaves fallen off and it appears to dying. Anything i can do to bring it back to life?
Stephanie George
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I bought a wisteria here in Tucson, AZ early spring. It’s been very hot all summer but it’s been thriving. Bloomed early and just beautiful. One day I go out to water and it just

looks dead. All dried up. I water daily twice. I’m so sad. What happened?? One day gorgeous...next day all dried up!
vmdswimmer
4 years ago
will white powdery mildew from other plants, transferred to wisteria from unwashed pruners, necessarily kill thriving wisteria once it presents itself?