sheila walsh asked 16 years ago
planted tree mallow last year.grew and flowered very well. pruned it this springnto within 1 foot of base. had to saw through thick woody stems. new buds appeared but now are wilting. i mulched with farmyard manure when it began to wilt and continue to feed it. I water it most nights. the new stems, about an inch long are still wilting. can i do any more ao have i killed it?
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
This is likely to have happened and is causing the wilting. Lavatera also suffers from a die-back disease but this usually causes wilting of fully grown twigs and branches, but it could be an early attack too.
The feeding and manuring would be more likely to hinder than help a plant already under pressure.
Wait and see. There is a remote possibility that it was not infected but simply suffering from drought, and occasionally part of a plant survives a disease attack.
