have you ever dug one up.. to see whats going on with the other half the plant???

ken

Thanks Ken, No I haven't. As these are single stemmed/trunked mums, I theorized that if roots were damaged, that would have impacted the whole of the plant, not just one portion. I also wondered about an animal urinating on the plant , but only wetting part of the branches. I'm not really satisfied with that thought as the soil for the whole bed is very loose loam, and would show tracks from an animal of any decent size plus the plants impacted are not close to the stone border around the bed.

(During the first 45-60 days or so after planting I have to wear "snowshoes" so as not to leave footprints. after that I use a long rake or hoe to get into the bed)