Why has the hedge turned brown after replanting?

[divyaprabhu]

We have replanted our hedge bushes about 4 weeks back, basically moved them from the right of the courtyard to the front edge. They seem to have turned brown eventually. Any idea what might be the reason? We have watered them regularly and added sesol fertiliser while replanting. Strangely, only the left most bush  stayed green, rest four turned brown. I would appreciate any pointers on how to fix this issue. Cheers 

 

[BoeingFan]

Hi @divyaprabhu ,

Welcome to the forums!

May I ask, what was planted in this area prior to the hedges? Was any grass there previously and Roundup had been used? Or perhaps a plant which preferred a soil type more acidic or alkaline to the hedges? What is the soil type where you have planted them?

Cheers,

Jason

[Jason]

Hi @divyaprabhu,

Let me extend a very warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. We trust you'll get loads of project inspiration and helpful advice from our wonderful members. Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share. 

Can you please confirm whether these are conifers? And could you please tell us a little more about how you transplanted them? It would also be helpful to know where you are based, what type of soil you have, and your watering regime. When we have a little more information, I'm sure our helpful members will be more than happy to assist. 

Many thanks,

Jason

[divyaprabhu]

Hi Jason, 

Thank you for your reply. When I did a photo match on google, the botanical name shows up as Coleonema pulchrum. There are supposed to be evergreen with small pink fragrant flowers.  Only the left most bush seems to have stayed green, rest of the bushes have turned brown.  We had a gardener transplant them who used garden soil and added seasol fertiliser to the roots.  The original position where we dug the bushes from had clay in the soil. The new position has garden soil with a bit of clay in it. We are based in Epping, Victoria. 

 

[divyaprabhu]

Hi Jason, 

We did not have anything planted in the area before we moved the bushes there. We did a bit of landspacing before we replanted the shrubs. There was no round up sprayed anytime. We have been watering once a day in the evenings. We mostly have clay in the soil in this area. 

[mich1972]

Good afternoon @divyaprabhu

Sending you a warm welcome to the Workshop Community. Thank you for sharing your question about your Diosmas. 
Unfortunately those two are definitely not going to regrow again. 
Diosmas need plenty of water when transplanting and the Seasol does help with transplant shock and stress damage. But they can still die off. Best time to transplant them is in winter when they are dormant. 
To be honest you should just remove them and plant something else. 
May I ask if you added a soil improver into the holes when you planted them ? They weren’t just planted into the sand ? 
I hope this may help you and please let us know how you are going 🌿🙂

[Dave-1]

Afternoon @divyaprabhu 

Transplanting bushes that are evergreen (these dont look like they shed their leaves) is always a chancy thing. When I looked closely I could see that there are weeds growing in the base of one of the plants? How big a hole did the gardener dig for the transplanting and how long ago was it? 

Even transplanting shrubs that are supposed to be easy (The ones around macdonalds type) fail sometimes. I agree with @mich1972's idea about planting something new.

Dave

[EricL]

Hello @divyaprabhu 

I'm in agreement with @mich1972 on why your hedge has turned brown. Unfortunately, diosmas are very sensitive to the type of soil its being transplanted into. Plus as mentioned earlier the best time to transplant it is during winter when its dormant. I'm afraid the transplant was too much of a shock for the plant and has stressed it out too much.

I'm putting my vote with @Dave-1 and @mich1972's suggestion in removing the hedge and perhaps thinking about planting something else that is hardy and robust.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

[divyaprabhu]

Thank you all for your suggestions. We replanted the bushes early septemeber, which might have not been the right season. I will remove them this weekend and plant some low maintenance flowering plants in the area. Cheers.