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I live in So Cal. Not sure if this bush/tree is dead or just not green because it's "Fall". There are a few green leaves still. But I'm wondering if I should just yank it out and plant something else?
I live in So Cal. Not sure if this bush/tree is dead or just not green because it's "Fall". There are a few green leaves still. But I'm wondering if I should just yank it out and plant something else?
Are there any other of the same type of shrub you could compare to? If one is dormant the others probably would be too. If you bend branches (not just small twigs but larger ones) are they totally brittle all the way through or is there a green supple core? If you scrape off the bark is there live tissue underneath? Probably dormant. If the branches are completely dried out and dead the plant probably is, but how plants appear in dormancy differs. Location affects it too.
Are there any other of the same type of shrub you could compare to? If one is dormant the others probably would be too. If you bend branches (not just small twigs but larger ones) are they totally brittle all the way through or is there a green supple core? If you scrape off the bark is there live tissue underneath? Probably dormant. If the branches are completely dried out and dead the plant probably is, but how plants appear in dormancy differs. Location affects it too.
The OP can also try to trim a few branches to see if they are green. Sometimes a blight or fungus can affect part of it and the OP might just want to trim that part off.
The OP can also try to trim a few branches to see if they are green. Sometimes a blight or fungus can affect part of it and the OP might just want to trim that part off.
Good point! Test branches in different areas around the bush.
There are some intact leaves and 2 or 3 remaining single yellow button flowers that identify it (for me) as an old, woody tansy bush, although a closer up picture of the leaves and that one intact yellow flower sticking up to the upper right would offer more confirmation of what species of tansy it is.
Anyway, I think it is dead rather than dormant and I would get rid of it, pull the whole thing up by the roots to get the whole rhizome out of the ground. It looks to me like it has a grey coloured fungal infection that has effected the wood and leaves and killed it very suddenly, I don't think it has gone like that from going into winter dormancy. So you don't want something with a catastrophic fungal infection on it nearby the other living plants there which might contract the same fungal infection. Those other plants are not tansy, btw.
If it's tansy, even if it was dormant and came back to life next spring, if you have children that like to pluck flowers, dogs that like to chew on sticks or other curious pets on the grounds then you likely wouldn't want tansy on your property anyway. All parts of the tansy plant is extremely toxic if ingested and that includes the bark and deadwood. Tansy contains alkaloids that can cause irreversible liver damage to humans and animals if chewed on or consumed. Also, tansy can spread by underground rhizomes and become invasive on domestic properties, so although there is a right place and use for tansy in the wilderness and it's beautiful when it's healthy, its place is not in a flowerbox or garden bed beside your house.
PS - I'd suggest you spray those other plants and rocks near it with an anti-fungal treatment just to be on the safe side.
With one exception those other shrubs don't look too happy either. I'd probably remove all that have any dead branches, inspect the green bush for damage or pests, leave the planter soil empty for a season, analyze the nutrient content, and replant. If you find any damage on the remaining green shrub maybe take a stem to a nursery and ask for advice. Can't really tell anything from your pics.
It looks like a plant I have that does the same thing. I think it's a mum of some kind.
Mine goes dormant for a few months, looks dead like yours, but I water it alitte.
And now, it's starting to bloom again. So, i would say leave it awhile and see what happens. Won't hurt anything.
Thanks for the additional pictures. I believe that is tansy ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris and it is an old plant. When it was first planted as a young plant it would have been very attractive and bushy with fern-like leaves and many clusters of yellow petaled daisy-like flowers.
Tansy ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris is in the Asteraceae family, (just like chrysanthemums are too so it shares some similarities) it is classified as an invasive toxic noxious weed and it has a bad smell that gives it a lot of other impolite common names because of its stink. It is a biennial to perennial species depending on location but it is a short lived perennial - maybe having a lifespan of 4 or 5 years and it can reach a mature height of 3 to 6 feet high. As the plant ages into old age it becomes woody, leggy and spindly (like that plant of yours) and produces less and less flowers and leaves with age and becomes more susceptible to diseases and fungal infections.
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