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strude

By Strude

Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom Gb

This year my honeysuckle(Halliana) has performed very poorly, not many flowers and not much scent.Its also very straggly looking. Any ideas of why this could be? I water and feed occasionly, the same as I did last year. I have also noticed a pale discolouration on the leaves.



Honeysuckle_002 Honeysuckle_leaf_001

Answers

 

It's a little hard to tell by the close-up, but it appears to have mildew. Powdery mildew, which starts in dry weather, is easily controlled by regular spraying with a soap and baking soda mixture, or with diluted milk. Downy mildew, which appears in warm, moist weather, usually needs a fungicide specifically for it. Also, what have you been feeding it with?

25 Jul, 2011

 

Mine is exactly the same and I've decided to cut it to the ground this Autumn as it's been 'poor' for a few years...and always gets mildew! Comments?

25 Jul, 2011

 

On the Hall's Honeysuckle, it seems to get mildew worse in the shade, so I would double check the exposure. In the UK, I would expect a south or soutwest exposure, with no shade trees or large shrubs surrounding, to be essential.

26 Jul, 2011

 

Thanks for the comments, Its on a south facing wall, so gets plenty of sunshine, Not sure what i feed it with as i have had it for a few years and isnt in the original box, they are turquoise colour granules. I usually just cut about a third of the stems to ground level, but I think i will give it a drastic prune this year, is it okay to cut the main stem to ground level?

26 Jul, 2011

 

It should come right up again, but it may decide not to bloom. Do you mean that all that it has had in the way of food was what you had in the original container?

26 Jul, 2011

 

Yes, as the feed was a few years old it may not have been adequate do u think? Also are the roots supposed to be in the shade?

26 Jul, 2011

 

Even timed release feeds rarely last longer than 9 months, though their empty remains can stay visible for far longer, sometimes fooling even the experts! It sounds like it is long overdue for another dose. Be sure to read the label for frequency of application, but remember that it won't help during the winter, so a short term liquid food may be best to apply now, to pump up its health before fall.

27 Jul, 2011

How do I say thanks?

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