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nisha_mo

virburnum

Nisha_Mo
18 years ago

I may be in the wrong forum. I also may be spelling Virburnum wrong. I planted a Marie Virburnum last year in the shade. Then the city came along and trimmed the tree branchs off the power lines late in the year. Now this year it is in the sun for several hours. During this time it droops so bad almost to the ground. The shrub is about 4' tall. I think every day is going to be its last. Then when the sun moves off then it comes back up and is fairly ok till the next day. I have to water it daily because of the extreme stress it suffers.

What I would like to know is this damaging the shrub? To much sun for several hours to much water or not enough water. I just really don't know what to do. The plant looks very healthy it just is requiring daily watering because of the heat.

I usually water it for about 15 minutes each day during the drooping period. Maybe thats not enough I just don't know.

Anyone that has any experience in this area please write me back.

Thanks so much

Comments (3)

  • tadeusz5
    18 years ago

    Nisha;

    "What I would like to know is this damaging the shrub? To much sun for several hours to much water or not enough water. I just really don't know what to do. The plant looks very healthy it just is requiring daily watering because of the heat."

    If you bought this Viburnum plicatum from a box store , then being that the plant sat for maybe 3 years in a pot, all it received was "constant water" and fertilizer to keep it growing, thus it's like being on drugs, it needs" aqua, and more aqua, until satisfied.
    If it was "field grown" then the ball/roots would not require that "drug" to keep it growing, as normal rain fall would suffice, and the plant would not go thru those stressful cycles.

    Yes the plant is "suffering " , - try putting in a different spot, and or keep watering till fall time weather sets in..

  • Carol_Ann
    18 years ago

    You'll have to keep an eye on your shrub and the soil to determine how much water it needs, and when. It does sound like it's heat-induced wilting and not a disease. I had this same problem with Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii' -- is that what you have? -- during the heat of summer in Indiana. Once your shrub gets acclimitized to it's new sun exposure it'll do better but it may still wilt on hot days. In the long run my shrubs did fine (the wilting during the really hot days didn't cause permanent damage) but it sure bothered me to look out and see them wilted. I watered during dry, hot periods, but not daily.

    If you planted last year, your shrub should be putting roots out into the soil and not just be in the area they were in when you planted it. It sounds like removal of the trees took away some shade they were getting used to and the heat/sun is affecting them.

    When you water it you need to completely soak the root ball, and I'm guessing 15 minutes of dripping isn't enough. Try letting it drip for longer (at least an hour, I'd guess, if your drip is slow) and move the end of the hose around so the water gets to the entire root ball. You want water to get to all of the roots and completely soak that area deeply.

    That said, you don't want to keep the root ball constantly soaking wet. If you water it when the soil is still wet, the roots aren't going to get any oxygen and will begin to rot, and then the plant will wilt and not recover. Even if it's wilted, if the soil is wet, don't water. Keep a close eye on the plant; it should, as you've said it does, rebound overnight.

    I love that viburnum but it doesn't seem to be the best choice for the Midwest and your area... if it continues to do poorly it may evenly go through so much stress that it doesn't recover well. Be prepared to find another choice for that spot if that happens. It's such a beautiful viburnum. Good luck!

  • Oswegian
    18 years ago

    I saw in one of those Illinois gardener guide books that viburnums don't like drought, so I was watching mine when I put them in. It is very dry here, IMO, in the far west burbs. We are really out on the prairie more than lakeside, and the wind is also a constant.

    So, I was expecting these five dwarf cranberry viburnums I put in to suffer, but they really haven't. I watered them a lot the first year, like every couple days, and kept them mulched. They didn't look wilted. Now they don't seem to need more than the other plants.

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