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we have a 'crotonifolia' which has been in our garden almost a year.
It has seemed to look quite ill and has black spots as well as the yellow ones, new leaves are coming through but appear to be infected already. where the new leaves are forming, the tops of the stems appear burnt and black, can anyone point me in the right direction. I have now removed all the leaves don't know if that was the right thing to do!?

Hello,

I think the first thing I need to do is establish exactly which plant we are talking about here. The nearest thing I can think of is a ‘Croton’, the Latin Genus name being Codiaeum. Are you growing this plant in the U.K.? I need to know because if it is the plant I am thinking of, it is a house plant and I’m not surprised its looking poorly! Please provide me with more information, have a look at Codiaeum in a decent text book, lets confirm we are talking about the same plant first. Tell me a bit more about the site and the soil please.

Look forward to hearing from you.

it is a 'crotonifolia', (AUCUBA JAPONICA), it is an outdoor plant also known as a spotted laurel, yes we are in the uk.

soil is clay type

Hello again,

Thank you for clearing up the identification issue. I was confused initially because I thought you were suggesting that 'Crotonifolia' was a common name for the plant you were describing. It is of course the cultivar name for the particular Aucuba japonica that you have. There are at least 8 other cultivars of Aucuba japonica in addition to 'Crotonifolia'. Now that you have taken all the leves off the plant I think I would prune it hard to within a few inches of the soil surface, if the plant is still alive, hard pruning will shock it into potentially vigorous new growth. Was the plant a new planting? I think the initial problem had something to do with moisture levels, either too much or rather poor drainage on the clay soil or possibly not enough watering if it was a young plant? Aucuba japonica cultivars are well known for their tolerance of a wide range of soils and conditions and are so tough infact that they are often used by local authorities in planting schemes because they require very little maintenance post establishment. If the plant is dead, (check under the bark with a sharp knife, if the wood underneath is brown the plant is dead, if it is green it is still alive) dig it out from the site and if the soil is heavy clay incorporate some well rotted compost for the replacement planting. The black young shoots could be a different problem:frost damage.

I hope I have been of some help.

Hi there,
Many thanks, will give it a go and see how we get on. We'll let you know.
Kind Regards
Linda