To chop, or not to chop?

I mentioned my Fatsia Japonica was yellowing, and it looks like the constant rain *could be why - if so, should I put off cutting the yellow stems out to let them soak up as much water as possible first? I haven't checked the roots, I can't really get in there.

 

I usually prune mine around now if it needs it.
Yellowing is pretty common, I think its just a shortage of nutrients.

 

I usually prune mine around the same time as I do the forsythia (when the flowers have all gone), so probably in a couple of weeks or so.

 

No it's not just natural leaf fall, it's healthy leaves dying, and new shoots dropping - it still flowered but they were droopy too.
I usually cut it back but haven't this year for the reason I mentioned above.
I don't want to lose it, it was my houseplant for 3 years before planting it out ten years ago.
Silly isn't it?

 

It looks like chlorosis.
I've seen a few like that.
Give it some good feeding for a while, even try Ericaceous feed.

 

Thanks @pete - people had suggested feeding, which I have a bit, but it seemed a bit pointless with all this rain. I found some pellets though and I have just put some out.

 

Feeding is difficult with all the rain but its not easy if things are really dry either.
The pellets should help, (chicken pellets?) but it might need two or three applications during the next few months.

 

Yeah it really wasn't worth doing much in the way of liquid feeds, especially as it's in a raised bed, which is more like a sleepered bank. But I found some general purpose pellets, and I can't see them sitting in the dry for long, lol!

 

Hello @Mrs. B. is your raised bed open to the soil below and does it drain well?

 

It depends on the type of soil too - if it's clay, it's not affected by lots of rain because it holds onto it's own nutrients, but if there'a other planting around using up nutrients, and/or it hasn't got much soil around to draw on, or if the soil's poor, that will easily affect it's health adversely.

It's never a good idea to feed a struggling plant though. From that photo, it looks very restricted, and it's against a wall, which can also affect the amount of water getting in. It's easier for deciduous plants.
They don't generally mind what type of soil, as in pH, but the soil needs to be in decent condition, so it's organic matter that's needed more than anything. It might be a good idea to cut it back and then address the soil. Mine gets cut back most years, as it gets a fair bit of damage over winter here, due to our climate.

 

Yes the raised bed is literally just sleepers holding soil back.
It's actually about 1.5ft away from the wall, but yes it's cosy - the big cherry is right next-door too. I don't add soil or compost, I just let all the leaves rot, (there's loads of leaf fall from the cherry) and the multitude of birds fertilise it, lol!
The soil is standard, slightly alkaline, and never dug along that side.
I usually take 3 or 4 stems out in late summer, but didn't last year.
The birds love it, its only the corvids who don't use the leaves as umbrellas.

I could get plenty of rotted horse poo if necessary.

 

Depending on how daring you are @Mrs. B. I’d consider giving it a hard pruning, by reducing all the stems to half their current height or to just about a foot above ground level. This will rejuvenate the plant, giving the roots less to support at the moment. Enrich the soil with well rotted manure and keep the bed moist. This assumes that the soil is well draining and not subject to waterlogging. They do bounce back quite quickly as the weather warms up!