My shrubs and plants are dying

Question

I recently moved into my house which faces the south. So far I have had to pull out 5 medium sized shrubs because they died. My blue spruce is turning brown as is another evergreen. In another area in the front of the house, the hydrangeas are dying. If I walk around the property, I see at least 4 more dead or dying bushes. Some hostas on the side of the house are dying. I live on Long Island and we had a wet spring. I have been watering regularly. We did find a bird house behind a bush that had some bugs on it (grub-like). My lawn is also getting brown spots. Any ideas?

Answer 1

It may be that the plants are getting too much water. outdoor plants only need about 2-4″ of water a week, including rainfall, during the spring and summer. If they are getting more than that and the ground is not draining, the roots could be rotting. You need to make sure that the plants are only getting the amount of water they need and that they are not in standing water.

Another possibility is that there are grubs. The ground may have grubs that are attacking the grass and the root of the shrubs. This article will help you with that:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/lawn-grubs-how-to-get-rid-of-grub-worms.htm