Ceanothus (split Branches)

[Mac McLennan]

I've never seen this before. EVERY branch on a clients Ceanothus was split. Some deep enough to loose a 50p Coin in.

 

Anyone know any more about this condition?

 

[ScottF]

Snow loading?

[Andy Collins]

I had quite a large ceanothus in my garden, and it seemed to get heavy at the ends with all the blooms. Wind sway would frequently cause the limbs to split off right back to the main stem. I ended up removing it as it was loosing to many limbs, and didnt seem to regen from the main stem.

[Mac McLennan]

Snow loading?

 

It's on the coast, so never much snow around here. This shrub/tree did not come into leaf this year, however has always looked healthy in the past.

[Mac McLennan]

I had quite a large ceanothus in my garden, and it seemed to get heavy at the ends with all the blooms. Wind sway would frequently cause the limbs to split off right back to the main stem. I ended up removing it as it was loosing to many limbs, and didnt seem to regen from the main stem.

 

That sounds more probrable in this instance.

[Dean Lofthouse]

I've seen loads round here that seem to self destruct, they seem to grow too quick before their branches have enough girth to support the weight.

 

Last week I did two were I recommened staged reductions.

[nepia]

They're not long-lived shrubs/trees: the one in the pics looks a decent size. Cutting back seems to have variable success, possibly dependent on the variety. They do have a habit of suddenly giving up the ghost for no apparent reason.

I've got a 10-year old one that's a pain; the flowering growth hangs over the path and the roots have never been firm - sways back and forth all the time. It's coming out this year (in about 6 weeks) and being replaced; they're fast-growing, perhaps too fast as someone suggested. This time I'm going to cut it every year to maintain a smaller but stronger, denser structure.

Another poss. explanation for demise is wet; remember that they are the Californian Lilac and are semi-desert plants. I remember seeing the holder of the national collection on the TV a few years ago and he claimed that he had never watered one, even those in tubs in London SW1.