Wow, I haven't a clue. My only advice would be to take some cuttings. It seems to root quite easily & grows quickly. If it is not a disease, maybe that will do well.

Transplant shock? Did you rough up the root system while planting? That, plus the heat, spells doom for a new planting.

could be a fungus, or fertilizer damage, or too much water. There are some fungus that will rot off stems like you describe. Often water will collect in the areas between main stem and branches.

Petit Bleu likes it dry, so that shouldn't have been much trouble. Only problem with it is that is isn't cold hardy for zone 5 :(

In the pot for a year it was probably root bound and as was mentioned, the root should have been deeply scored and possible the bottom root mass removed when planted. After planting the top should have been cut back to help the roots by lessening the transpiration of moisture from the foliage. Water should have been applied right on the original root ball every day for several days until the roots establish in the garden soil. Al

These root easily in water. I found this out by accident. I bought one recently and a few limbs were broken and hanging down. I removed them and put them in some water. They had blooms so I thought I'd enjoy them for a few days. However, 3 days later they all had roots!

If there's air getting to the roots, that can also be a problem. Make sure it's in the ground good.

You said " whole limbs are falling off from the mail stalk ". I don't understand this. Are you saying whole branches are falling off the main stem? Or are you talking about the leaves?

I would expect leaves to drop if the problems suggested above are the problem. Branches should not be falling off. I don't have this variety, but even after a witner kill of the top part of the plant, braches don't fall off.

I'll partially disagree with Al. Scorring the roots is a good idea if it is really root bound. If the roots look healthy, don't cut the top back. This is an old practice that should only be used with severe root loss. Water should not be applied 'every day' to any shrub, let alone one like this that likes it dry. Water well. Water again when the 'original root ball' dries out. This is usually weekly.

You mentioned it was planted in really good soil. This might be the problem. If the soil of the original root ball is very different than the new soil, it may be water logged or very dry at the root zone, because the 'great soil' is wicking water away or into the root ball. I doubt this is the problem that is causing braches to fall off.

New shrubs do not need fertilizer, especially if planted in good soil. This is just a waste of money, and results in weak plant growth. If you mulch shrubs with organic material - you probably never need to fertilize.

Caryopteris are not hardy in zone 5. However, the root system is. The plant will die down to ground, and regrow next year. Unless this variety is quite different from others I have grown.

I'd dig down a bit with fingers, and check that the original root ball is not too wet or too dry. If this looks OK, just leave it and water once a week until mid Nov. It is now growing new roots and needs the water.

You can also try rooting in water.

Hi Linda,

I had the same thing happen recently to a Dark Knight Caryopteris that has been in the ground for 4 yrs. Mine still has a few live branches but the majority of it croaked just as you describe, right after it began flowering. I have no clue what the problem might be, have another one a few ft. away and it is fine. I've never tried to root caryopteris but get many seedlings every yr. Sorry no advice, just commiseration...

Thanks lucy, I appreciate your condolences... And yours and mine seem to be acting exactly the same. Nothing started happening to the limbs until the plant started blooming.

madtripper, whole limbs are falling off main stem(s)-they are actually detaching themselves. The way we noticed it first was that a section of the plant - a limb is how I'm going to describe it - was wilting. On closer examination, we saw that at the "vee," where the limb is attached to the stem, there is just a detachment taking place. I have never seen anything like this in all my years of gardening.

This plant was the picture of health before the limbs started to fall off. It is in full bloom and just beautiful. The bees just love it, and so do I.

I did not cut it back when it was planted because it was not very tall when I bought it. Had it been taller, and not rootbound, I would have trimmed it back, as I do my butterfly bushes.

I do have a question about it. Since it spent all of last year in a pot, before we bought it this spring, could some of the soil have drained out of the pot? You know the rule about planting a new plant at the same height as it was in the pot when you bring it home? My Petite Bleu has a main stalk or stem that comes out of the ground a few inches and then the limbs start coming out. This is where they are detaching themselves. Should the branching of the limbs be directly out of the soil, and not a few inches above it? Just wondering if I need to replant it a couple of inches deeper. I keep looking for a reason for the problem so I can avoid it if I have to rebuy one next year, if I can't save this one.

Linda

Planting deeper doesn't seem right. I think my caryopteris's branch out like what you describe.

When I see anything wilting or damaged in my yard, my first suspect is VOLES eating the roots. It mostly happens with hosta and such, but ya never know.

Is the soil firm around it? I can usually spot the problem too by seeing loose soil around the plant and stepping on mounds that sink down. But to be sure, you could dig it up to examine the roots, just in case. When I go to rescue and remove a hosta that has been vole-attacked, usually there is very little digging involved. the top of the plant is usually not attached to anything. boo-hoo....

What about weed-killer?

I had the same thing happen to a caryopertis sunshine blue. Individual branches just started wilting, currently there's only one live branch left. It's been in the ground for three years with no previous problems. I have another of the same plant not far away and it looks fine so far. The plant's demise is a mystery that I've been trying to figure out most of the summer.

arbordayle, I feel for you. I wish we could solve this mystery. I'm going to continue to work on it and I'll post later if I find out anything that would be of help to you, me, and juicylucy.

wendyb, soil is intact around it, and no sign of mole tunnels in the area. We don't use weed killer because our 9 year old Boxer has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and we don't want him around any kind of chemicals.

Just an observance. Driving past a local garden center today, I looked for their caryopteris that they had put in a planting around the business. It isn't there this year, but there is a bunch of dead sticks in the area where it used to be!

Linda

Our caryopteris (dark knight) is doing the same thing. It's year 3 for it...I was thinking that it is too wet. I really have no idea.

I originally posted in July 2008 to report that one of my sunshine blue caryopteris was slowly wilting away. That plant eventually lost all of its limbs except for the main stalk. Interestingly, the whole plant didn't die. The main stalk rebounded this season and looks healthy. I keep pinching it back hoping the plant will sprout some new branches. My other sunshine blue now has the same problem. Whole limbs just wilt and die. I should add that these plants are located in different sections ofa large mixed border, with plenty of sunshine, very good drainage (on a slope) and with no added fertilizer. Everything else in the border is healthy. I wonder how many other people are having these problems. By the way- I love these plants.

Years later - mine flowers beautifully & then the buds prematurely wilt. it has a few ”babies’ right next to it. others are farther away. i am wondering if these are tapping the main plant. it is five years young.

I am having this same issue. I planted two of these last year, they did great. This year, one of them keeps wilting. It's been so hot here (Michigan) and they are planted in full sun. I thought it was getting dry, so I water it daily. But the other one is perfect and planted about 1 1/2 feet from the other. It's making me crazy.

^^ You might be over-watering.