| We purchased over 40 golden privets last year and this year very few have leaves. Those that do have leaves have them at the base. Some of the wood is cracked and we have pruned them so get rid of the dead wood. We have lightly fertilized them. What more can we do? They were year old plants I think. Some look like they won't make it for the one year guarantee. We purchased them in July/Aug 08. |
| Golden privet are deciduous plants and some years they are slow to leaf out. Cracked wood indicates winter damage but can also indicate a protective bark so what looks dead may not be. However, if some are producing new shoots at the bases of the plant, the roots are still alive and you'll get new shrubs from those new shoots. Golden privet are hardy in your zone 5 so I wonder if the plants were not yet established when winter weather arrived or if you had an exceptionally cold winter this year. You said you pruned out the dead wood - did you cut into it to make sure the center tissue was dead? I hope you didn't prune too soon. Since you have already fed and pruned them, about the only thing left is to wait and see how they leaf out. Certainly you should see new growth within the next week or two. I hope they all recover. If not, you should be able to get replacement shrubs. Best wishes with your golden privets. |
