Griselinia hedge dead help!

[Hedge guy]

Hi, first post here as I am totally perplexed and in need of advice,
 

We have an established Griselinia hedge. Neighbour snapped by hand the branches off so that he could see over the hedge. Leaves then turned yellow and all have now dropped off after 2 months, the hedge is now bare and branches are black. In addition we also have an alder tree and poplar tree. Person snapped the top part of the trees both are now dead.

 

After the damage occurred it was dry for a long time and wind was cold. Could it be that the plants were stressed, or do you suspect that it is something else. 

 

Thank you so much for your help

[Ratman]

Hi, first post here as I am totally perplexed and in need of advice,
 
We have an established Griselinia hedge. Neighbour snapped by hand the branches off so that he could see over the hedge. Leaves then turned yellow and all have now dropped off after 2 months, the hedge is now bare and branches are black. In addition we also have an alder tree and poplar tree. Person snapped the top part of the trees both are now dead.   After the damage occurred it was dry for a long time and wind was cold. Could it be that the plants were stressed, or do you suspect that it is something else.    Thank you so much for your help

Got any pictures for people to look at?

[Hedge guy]

Thanks for your response, here is a pic

[Dan Maynard]

It would be pretty unusual to kill an alder or a poplar by snapping the top, they would usually respond by sprouting even if you cut down to ground level. Difficult to say more without more evidence.

[Macpherson]

3 hours ago, Hedge guy said:

Hi, first post here as I am totally perplexed and in need of advice,
 

We have an established Griselinia hedge. Neighbour snapped by hand the branches off so that he could see over the hedge. Leaves then turned yellow and all have now dropped off after 2 months, the hedge is now bare and branches are black. In addition we also have an alder tree and poplar tree. Person snapped the top part of the trees both are now dead.

 

After the damage occurred it was dry for a long time and wind was cold. Could it be that the plants were stressed, or do you suspect that it is something else. 

 

Thank you so much for your help

 

Hi, I used to have a Griselinia specimen as a tree which thrived in an exposed coastal position and which I pruned on a few occasions, the prunings did go quite black but the tree thrived.

Also I have neighbours with a Griselinia hedge in a similar position which gets cut twice a year with no ill effects.

 

Alder is pretty much bullet proof.. if you snapped off a branch and stick it in the ground you'll get a tree in no time.

 

Just the fact that 3 different species are affected, as you say, I suspect something else👍... do you get on with the neighbour?

 

 

[Hedge guy]

Hi Macpherson

thank you so much for your reply. It is what I was thinking, three species all dead or dying. House is in coastal location, he gets a view over my garden by killing the trees. We are civil with him but no more than that. He has a gardener mate and I’m thinking he could have dipped poison into the broken stems? I think it’s a case of cctv and/or fence. 
 

Thanks 

 

[dumper]

Test a soil sample  for salt

[tomo567]

Test a soil sample  for salt

Why salt

[Stubby]

16 minutes ago, tomo567 said:

Why salt

Coz salt will kill most plants . I got rid of pampas grass that came from next door with dish washer salt . Its better than Roundup .

Edited May 24, 2022 by Stubby

[openspaceman]

16 minutes ago, tomo567 said:

Why salt

cheap, available and kills plants especially in spring with a water deficit

[tomo567]

cheap, available and kills plants especially in spring with a water deficit

I thought griselinia was good in costal areas that was exposed to a lot of salt in the air