For the past 4 years I have had a thriving Leycesteria formosa (Himalayan Honeysuckle) Tree in my back yard. Over the winter I noticed snow mounding along the tops of the branches, weighing them down. Additionally, the wind storms caused some of the long center shoots to bend in 1/2. This spring, all of the old, new, and bent shoots have gone brown. In the case of the longer, center shoots, the brown starts about 3/4 of the way up the tree. This particular tree is about 10 feet high and 6 feet across and has been very healthy until this winter. All of the lower branches are completely brown and snap off easily in your hand. The tree looks 3/4 dead to look at it. All of the shoots are hollow and tubular in nature and start from the base with some smaller spindly offshoots. Normally the shoots would be bright green at this time of the year. I live in the Abbotsford area and am a zone 7/8. The garden gets full afternoon sun and is East facing. The soil is poor due to the high clay content, but this does not seem to have bothered this particular plant. It is very easy to find information about this tree online, but nothing on this particular problem. Does anyone have some insight on how to remedy this?
Sounds like it froze. Wait and see if new growth comes from below later. Note: clay soil tends to be more fertile than sandy soil as it is not as leached.
