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Gardening

Find tips and tricks to make your garden or allotment flourish on our Gardening forum.

Everything is dying

37 replies

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 19:57

We are brand new gardeners and can’t understand why everything is dying despite nightly watering (really good soaks not just a sprinkle).

Where are we going wrong?

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lljkk · 03/08/2018 19:59

overwatering?

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 20:01

Everything’s crispy though?

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CoperCabana · 03/08/2018 20:05

It’s a challenging year. Is everything sitting in full sun? What specifically is dying? Are you watering once the sun has disappeared?

SarahDoY · 03/08/2018 20:05

You are forcing the roots up by watering. In dry conditions roots go deep. You are better to water slowly at night and let the water go deep in the soil.

You are you on sandy soil?

TamiTayorismyparentingguru · 03/08/2018 20:05

What is everything? Plants? Grass? Shrubs?

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 20:07

Our fuchsias and lavender have gone brown. Hydrangea is doing well and dahlias are flowering beautifully but have wilting leaves.

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MaddieElla · 03/08/2018 20:08

Over watering? Wrong soil for the plants?

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 20:08

We are watering about this time of night.

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QuarrellingElephants · 03/08/2018 20:10

Half my garden is just getting scorched - to be honest I think it's a difficult year. Are they new plants? I've almost lost a few bits I planted this year, older stuff is doing much better.

lljkk · 03/08/2018 20:11

I found Lavender isn't that robust until it's well established. We've failed with growing fuscias, soz. I haven't watered our hydrangeas ever & they look great. We had good downpours over weekend, but that was almost only rain in last 2.5 months.

middleagedalready · 03/08/2018 20:13

You might find posting some photos of what is happening useful.
Are all of the plants in the right sun/shade combo for them?
Is the soil nutrient rich? Do the plants need feeding?
Are the ph levels right for your plants?
Water is important but not the only thing plants need.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 20:16

All brand new plants, we’ve never bothered with our garden before now because it was over taken by leylandii and couldn’t even grow grass!

Now it feels like a massive waste of time and money!

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GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 20:17

Gosh lots of questions I don’t know the answer to. Maybe gardening isn’t for us! Blush

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middleagedalready · 03/08/2018 20:24

A heat wave is a really tough time to start gardening.
There are really good introduction to gardening books that can help prevent costly mistakes, I think I read one by Geoff Hamilton years ago when just getting started. There is also lots on u tube.
Don't give up.

Taffeta · 03/08/2018 20:28

They may just be dying back - keep watering and hopefully they’ll come good again next year.

Riotgrrrrrl · 03/08/2018 20:29

I'm not massively into gardening but I read that lavender prefers Mediterranean conditions, you'll kill it by watering it all the time. I leave mine and it's thriving.

Not sure about the others

SarahDoY · 03/08/2018 20:41

Get your camera out there. Photograph the plants.

Get a hand full of soil and wet it, squeeze it, is it sandy or clay soil?

What colour are your and your neighbours hydrangers? This should indicate soil pH.

concretesieve · 03/08/2018 20:46

Whoa there !! Grin Don't give up!

First - great on getting rid of the leylandii - revolting stuff!!

As PLs have said, it's been a tough year for beginners, so well done! You've had some successes, so keep that gardening chin up Grin I'm also a great fan of Geoff H. - I think PP's book might be his Practical Gardening Course - v. comprehensive.

Good luck!

LapdanceShoeshine · 03/08/2018 20:53

Lavender is like rosemary & thyme - they need well-drained fairly dry soil with some sand/grit (or perlite or something)

All my stuff is in pots & I water the lavender much less often than the rest - maybe 1 time in 3

Get one of the Hessayon Expert books, or look up growing advice via google Smile

LapdanceShoeshine · 03/08/2018 20:54

Also you could top dress with some potting compost or something, to hold moisture & add nutrients

FraxinusExcelsior · 03/08/2018 20:57

It's a bad year to plant a new garden. I've had to do the same because we moved house last year and it's an uphill battle keeping everything hydrated.

In a normal year you would hardly need to water at all.

Just keep on what you're doing and save what plants you can. Hopefully next year we'll be back to normal English weather with on and off rain all summer and our plants will thrive...

Oblomov18 · 03/08/2018 21:05

Mine isn't doing that well atm.

BlackStoneCherie · 03/08/2018 21:11

Have you just bought these plants op? and did you get them from a good garden centre which looks after their stock, or a place like B&M, or Aldi - which stick them out in the sun without a drop of water and leave them?
In this weather, even with daily watering, the soil will probably only be wet for the first top 2 inches at the most. Did you soak your plants in a bucket of water before planting as that helps to establish them.

Does the water soak into the soil of the plant you've just watered meaning the soil is well moistured, or does it run off - bone dry?
Also when watering, do you direct the water at the root (as you should), or do you spray the whole plant (which is wasteful of water as it doesn't reach the root)?

Re lavender - as PP said, it likes warm dry conditions, so I never water mine until the very tips begin to drop a little, and even then, it only gets a small amount.
Have you fed your plants any liquid feed (once a week)? I water mine first in the evening, then the following morning, feed them using a watering can, and again, direct it at the roots.

The leylandii will have taken all the goodness from the soil - and probably turned it to dust, so maybe some compost dug into surrounding soil of plant too?

It sounds like you've made a good start - and this summer has been a trial for any gardener, so please don't give up. I love my garden, I love sitting out in it on a night when the air begins to cool, and the bees are still buzzing around. I hope you do too!

Rockyrockcake · 03/08/2018 21:14

It is nothing to do with not being good gardeners and everything to do with this exceptional weather.Plants take a year to put roots down deep enough to,resist this burning sun. The heat in the soil is damaging the roots unfortunately. I suggest you spread a good thick mulch over the soil. Composted bark, bark clippings or gravel. Spread it deeply and it will keep the soil cool and help retain moisture.

GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat · 03/08/2018 21:33

Is it worth keeping the corpses until next year to see if they come alive again or are they goners?

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