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Escallonia

SuesynSuesyn Posts: 624
in Problem solving
Help please! I planted an escallonia Ivyei on the boundary wall the year before last. It has grown to about 5ft tall but has lost most of the leaves and looks very sad. There is new growth showing in odd places but I don't know what to do with it now. Should I trim the bits with no growth  and hope that it recovers or give it a drastic haircut and see what happens. I assume that the cold weather caused it but the ceanothus it's next to is fine and I thought they were less hardy.  It could also be that it doesn't like our horrible clay. Can anyone offer any advice 

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  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 28,811
    edited April 2018
    Escallonias don't mind clay as long as you've worked in some grit and fibrous material such as garden compost to open it up and improve drainage.

    It may well be that yours has suffered from teh cold and, as it's showing some signs of growth, I would wait another month to see how it goes and then, if it looks OK then, just cut out any obviously dead stems and feed it.   If it doesn't look like it's recovering, hoik it out and try something that copes better in clay.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
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  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,756
    Ours succumbed to Escallonia leaf spot. Might be worth checking if you have that before trying to save it. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,200
    The white ones aren't very hardy. They don't survive the winters here where I am. I had one in a previous garden [all clay here] and assumed the wet cold soil was the main issue. I got one for this garden and planted it in a raised bed against a fence, SW facing, with 'purpose made' free draining soil, but it still popped it's clogs pretty quickly. I knew it probably would but thought I'd chance it.

    Lonicera will take anything the weather throws at it right enough IanC. Makes a good hedge or as a specimen to shape, or groud cover in awkward areas. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 624
    Thanks for the advice, I think  I'll give it a chance and see if it recovers, if not I'll be looking for something else to cover the horrid breeze block wall.  
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 50,200
    Could you plant some climbers on trellis instead Sue? If you painted the wall and did the trellis in a contrasting colour, it would make a feature of it rather than feeling you have to hide it completely. If you choose carefully, you can have a long season of interest with climbers, and the wall would be less obvious. 
    Or could you have the wall rendered if it's not too expensive? I completely understand that breeze block isn't the most attractive looking backdrop!
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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