absolutely ...

you compost wood shavings .. until they are compost.. and then use them ...

raw wood leaches nitrogen from the soil ... and attacks/out competes and steals .. all water ... its part of the rotting process ...

your plants are probably dying from lack of available water ...

i highly doubt... they are nitro deficient this fast ... that would be a more long term issue ...

this is why i tell peeps.. that if they want to grow grass over a ground stump.. have the dude remove all the grindings... and put in fresh soil...

otherwise... the grass sprouts.. turns yellow.. and dies in the middle of summer for lack of water.. sound familiar???

dump it all out.. repot them.. they might come back ... and keep the pot in shade for a few days.. to help them recover ... [cant move it, eh???]

gotta run

ken

Barbara, the raw wood chips cause many problems when used the way that you employeed them. In the simplest terms, you need to choose something inert to fill up some of that space....something that won't decompose. I expect that those chips are heating up under there, at the very least. Gotta get rid of them completely. Don't mix them in with the potting medium, either.

Some people use empty bottles or cans for the job. I use styrofoam packing peanuts stuffed into mesh onion bags (or pantihose), very reusable. Never use the peanuts loose.

There's also the possiblility in addition to what's been stated above, that - as with black walnut - your oak tree is allelopathic, releasing chemicals that will kill many plants.

Thank you for your comments & suggestions. I have dumped the old soil & replaced with fresh soil using the same plants. We'll see what happens, please keep your fingers crossed!!

I hope that you dumped the wood chips along with the old soil. Did you use anything to take up space on the bottom of your container?

samhain, Black Oak is not considered a problem with allelopathic properties. Some oaks are, but it's usually observed with grasses and a few monocots and the chemicals are in the root exudates.

Good to know, rhizo_1. I only wish I had some oaks. Black walnuts, now, I've got a corner on the market! Do you know of anything they have problems with - other than a chainsaw? :)

This black oak tree that was taken down was diseased. White oak not affected, only black!
Some insect disease quite prevalent here on the Cape