Unexplained deaths

In the past month I've noticed a number of plants in my garden start to give up the ghost. So far an elderberry bush and a couple of honeysuckles and now an ornamental Rubus have just wilted followed by browning of the leaves, this takes place over several weeks. There are no other obvious signs and they are scattered around the garden. So two questions firstly has anybody any suggestions and secondly have other members had similar deaths?

 

Salt spray from the sea?

 

Sounds like you have a sink hole developing under the garden and the plants are just dying due to their roots hanging in space.
On the other hand it might just be drought?

Other than that, have you dug the plants out, first tying yourself to something pretty substantial of course, it could be honey fungus.

 

At one stage we used to have plants that just died and things would just happen, then the nasty neighbour move away and we have had no more problems

 

Did they move to Paignton

 

No, not that sort of move

 

Nigel, can you supply some images?

 

If I listed all the plants that I've lost here, I'd be up all night! Extremes of wet/dry and heat/cold....
One thing that I've learnt is that the damage is often done some time before the actual loss of the plant. E.g. a very wet winter like the last one will cause rotting of the roots but the plant doesn't keel over definitively until the following summer.
Have you ruled out physical damage by grubs, Nigel?
The only other thing I can suggest is to send samples/descriptions off to the RHS. They're pretty good at identifying various root-rot problems, although perhaps you have to be a member to use this service?

 

@Zigs We haven't had any strong winds off the sea in the past few months. I have had a problem in the past especially in spring with young growth being burnt off.
@daitheplant Will try and remember to get pictures over the next day or so.
@noisette47 No grubs or other physical damage above ground. Some mildew on other lonicera.
I'm tempted to blame the cold wet spring.

 

Hi again, Nigel. This link might help?
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=542

 

@noisette47
Thank you for the link, Phytophora was on my mind as a possible cause. One of the lonicera is in a damp clay soil the other plants are in much better drained soils. I will have to have a poke around the roots and see what is happening there.

 

As promised dying plants.
Dying Lonicera

Dying Elderberry

 

Just had a thought.....Over here, Cossus cossus (goat moth) is wreaking havoc in orchards and woods. I've had several trees affected by the larvae which tunnel up through trunk and branches for up to four years. Probably nothing to do with the demise of the Lonicera but as well as looking at the roots of the elder, Nigel, it may be worth doing some cross-sections on the top growth?

 

Update. Having cut back the obviously dead bits both the elderberries have sprouted well this spring and the honeysuckle is also growing from the base.
So I think it was the cold damp period last spring that led to an imbalance in root growth and top growth.

 

Good news!