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Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Though we don't grow those here in our colder climate, I can give you several possibilities. First, a large dog peeing on it could do that but not likely since it doesn't seem random enough. If it's all of the branches coming from one main shoot,
it's likely the roots serving that part of the bush that are dead. That could be from some insect or rodent eating those roots, or tunneling and exposing the roots to air. Do you have gophers or moles in your area? Unfortunately that could continue, but for now I would cut off the dead foliage and use some thin stakes to try and cover the area by bending good branches over the empty space.
Dog damage was my first thought too, but it would have to be a very tall dog. Is there any possibility that somebody human has been standing and peeing into your ixora bush in that one section?
Or were you by any chance using a herbicide on your lawn to get rid of weeds and maybe a bit of overspray might have accidentally gotten onto the foliage or roots of the bush?
I agree with Hemlock's suggestions.
I think it would be good if you clean away all those dead brown leaves off the branches they're on so the branches are more visible and easier to examine them all the way to the ground for signs of any physical damage or fungal damage. Also examine the dead leaves for signs of fungal infection.
Leave the bared branches on the shrub until late spring to examine again to look for possible new green growth nodes that might be forming on them in spring. If there are no signs of new growth developing and the bared branches have turned very brittle and easy to snap off by hand then the branches are dead and they should be cut off.
I think the whole shrub could do with a short trim all over to tidy it up and open it up a bit to more air circulation.
This is a very nice neighborhood, but it might be the amazon delivery driver pissing on it?
It's shape was such that that spot was providing cover for someone's wiener from the street view if someone was pissing on it.
I cut off the branches 2 days ago, now there is a huge hole on it.
This is a very nice neighborhood, but it might be the amazon delivery driver pissing on it?
It's shape was such that that spot was providing cover for someone's wiener from the street view if someone was pissing on it.
I cut off the branches 2 days ago, now there is a huge hole on it.
If someone pee'd there, you should smell an odor. If you have (or know someone) with a scent dog, they'll tell you if it's urine or not, very quickly.
Since there's some greenery under the dead plume, I'm not thinking it was something like urine. However, I AM thinking it's something internal, or fungal. This is what cancer looks like. It happens randomly, not usually from an edge.
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