not dying but not growing

13 years ago

Hi all!

I have a large rocky slope behind my house and have planted a bunch of stuff on it. Some things have done okay--fremontodendron, ceanothus--and some not (spice bush, california hazelnut).

What puzzles me is things like the catalina cherry. After three years, it's a stick about a foot tall, with three leaves at the top and three at the bottom. I suppose it might just be the wrong spot but you'd think it would be perfect--there's a lovely grove of them nearby, it gets sun, a little extra winter water, I keep the weeds and deer away.

Any ideas? If it had died I'd say it just wasn't meant to be, but it keeps hanging on!

Thanks

Matt

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Comments (4)

CA Kate z9
13 years ago
Is it possible that it is root-pruned by the gophers? I had a similar situation and it was the gophers munching the newest roots.
aquilachrysaetos
13 years ago
I have the same problem with gophers. My first attempts at roses were failures. They didn't grow and the roots were nearly nonexistent. It wasn't until I saw a bush quivering when there was no wind that I figured out what the problem was.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
I agree there must be a root problem. I would dig one up and take a look. Al
hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
13 years ago
Ditto that. Sounds suspiciously like gopher activity. It is almost always the case for me if surrounding plants with like habits are doing fine, and one is not. Gophers like fruit tree roots, and the Catalina Cherry is in the Prunus family, so this may explain why other plants nearby were unaffected.

Patty S.