Bare grapevine and blueberry

I've just noticed that my young grapevine and one of my potted blueberry plants have dropped all their leaves! Is this normal?

There were covered in about two week's worth of sycamore leaves as I haven't had the time recently to clear these. And we have had copious rain. Please don't tell me they're drowned or dead.

 

Vines are deciduous, Luckyboo, and although I haven't grown blueberries, I'd be surprised if they were evergreen. So don't despair!

Generally speaking, you can tell evergreen plants by the waxiness of their leaves - if they're not tough and waxy, they're generally deciduous.

 

Thanks for the reassurance Dendy. I didn't realise that grapevines were deciduous. I went into a panic when I saw 'sticks' everywhere today and mucky leaves covering everything, thought maybe they were suffocated.

I was especially concerned about the one blueberry plant as the other two have bright red foliage on.

 

Dendo - interesting point about the leaves. Its logical, but I had never considered it before. Thank you for that.

 

luckyboo .... as dendrobium has said, don't worry, the vineyards all around us will soon be bare of leaves; do remember to promote growth for next year, you need to prune back your vine. M-L

 

Just a thought but if a leaf drops of a plant on its own accord you can bet the plant is still alive.
If a leaf dies and remains attached, then the chances are, its dead.

 

unless it's a beech......... :rolleyes: :D

 

Good point, .......but they do drop off eventually. :D

Never have worked out why when grown as a hedge it retains its dead leaves, (which I think looks awful), but when grown as a tree it sheds them.

 

It's one of these hormone things, Pete! If you trim the hedge it stimulates them and they hang on to the leaves - trees don't do it if they're left alone, likewise a neglected hedge would be bare. Can't say I understand it, but that's what I've been told....

 

think it's this one.....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokinin

 

Yep, bit complicated, aint it.
Does that mean that if you trimmed say a lime tree, it would hold its leaves.

 

Pete, you wouldnt' trim a 'lime'tree? would you? its like clipping a birds feathers off :D :D

 

Not really I suppose its the first thing that came into my head, not your kind of limes, I meant tilia/ linden. :D

 

I don't think it applies to all trees - but I don't know, Pete. As I've seen hundreds of lollipop Tilias - I should think the answer is "No"! But I don't know which ones this would apply to..... although I believe Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus - the tree, not our HB!)does hang on if you trim it, but maybe not if you live where I do! :rolleyes: