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prakash_mukre

Help save these dying plants

9 years ago

We moved into our new home last year. Previous owner has these various plants that we don't know how to take care. They are almost dying. It's been raining heavily here in Bay area. So I doubt it's shortage of water. What else ? What kind of fertilizer do they need. Almost all of them are planted in partial shade next to the fence.

Any suggestion to help revive these would be greatly appreciated.


Comments (9)

  • 9 years ago

    None of them look particularly like they are dying :-) A little stressed perhaps and maybe showing some signs of winter but mostly like they are not well suited to that location and the heavy rock mulch. That appears to be a very narrow planting area - how wide is it? What's the soil like underneath all that rock? Is drainage good? How much sun/shade does that area get?

    The first plant looks like agapanthus, the second clivia and the remaining ones strelitzia (although I am not certain - hopefully a local will correctly ID). I see nothing to be overly concerned about for the first two and the remaining three could just use a bit of a tidying. Any plant - even evergreen ones - will some periodic attention with regards to removing dead or damaged foliage, winter dieback (if any) and general grooming.

    But I would urge you consider the value and aesthetics of that overly narrow planting area and maybe enlarge and improve to a more plant-friendly setting or relocate the plants to a better location and remove the planter altogether,

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks for quick reply.

    First two photographs are of same plant , it has around 12-15inch of space. This space is mostly under shade, but it does get reflected light. This plant started drying very recently after rains started

    3rd, 4th abd 5th pic are of different plants each, and they have around 20inch of space. But yes, they all have heavy rock mulch. These on the north west side, so they get before noon sunlight. Leaves of these plants have always looked sickly, I have never seen them in full vigor.

    Is there any fertilizer that could help these ?


  • 9 years ago

    "First two photographs are of same plant"

    Then probably I'd go with the clivia for both :-) I don't understand the comment about it "drying very recently after the rains" - it doesn't look overly dry but it does look like it is being congested as the dry/dead portions on the foliage are located on those that touch (or did touch) the fence. But clivia won't mind and will actually prefer the shade. It is just very close quarters there for them to grow happily.

    The other three, if strelitzia are indeed what they are, would like full sun. Hopefully they are dwarf varieties, as that plant can get huge.

    It is the growing conditions that are causing problems, not lack of fertilization, and just throwing fertilizer at the problem won't help and can easily make things worse.

    You need to understand the soil situation, how much light the plants are receiving and when and if the area, both in size and location, best addresses their needs.

  • 9 years ago

    You do have some nice plants there - 1st shot might also be Crinum lily, 2nd plant looks like it could be Calla lily and 3rd might be Canna. The Crinum and Calla would want some shade and each of them can handle a narrow space (they all can also be grown in pots). As Gardengal says - it's winter, they look fine fro winter. Some folks will probably lose plants to drowning with all the rains we've had - but yours are not looking bad. If you end up with standing water or really soggy dirt there - it could become a problem (in which case, I'd say carefully dig them up and pot with some purchased loose potting soil - if you're really worried you can do that now without much damage). Both Crinum and Clivia can be pricey bulbs - if you get concerned about drainage there, that'd be the one to save. That last plant photo looks like one people in other zones grow as a houseplant, although I can't name it for you.

  • 9 years ago

    I think my Crinum guess is wrong - went out to take a photo of my not dormant today February (that has had some freezes) crinum (and yes, with enough cold they should go dormant but the asking person is in CA a few zones warmer than me so his may not have) and the leaves do look different. They're in a pot - which should make them feel one zone colder, but also barely under the porch overhang (you can see the post to the stair railing, uncovered there).

    Looking down on it they are different (even though the long and lanky leavers here are due to winter).

    Don't know why they didn't go dormant - I've been letting them get dry. Just fyi.

  • 9 years ago

    Hi. There are a lot of guesses as to what your plants are, but gardengal has the IDs right: agapanthus and strelitzia. They do look a bit stressed but they are both also very resilient plants so they could bounce back with a bit of care. Also, both very common so you could just as easily start with new plants should these die. The agapanthus is very susceptible to snails, so watch out for those.

    the strelitzia look like they've been neglected and underwatered for some time. The pock marks on the leaves could be from drought. The damage was likely compounded with frost if you got any this winter.

    With a bit of care and full sun they should both do really well.

  • 9 years ago

    Bird of paradise is hard to kill -- I know because I've tried and failed so many times.

  • 9 years ago

    They are just looking tired because it's winter. As soon as the weather warms up a little they'll look good again. No full sun for Clivia. It's a mostly-shade plant. In habitat it grows just inside the drip line under trees.