Variety of plants dying in backyard garden - Ask Extension
Why are all the plants dying and what can I do about it? 3 large crepe myrtles and a lace leaf red maple are shading most go the property, which may ...
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Variety of plants dying in backyard garden #928450
Asked April 15, 2026, 10:02 AM EDT
Why are all the plants dying and what can I do about it? 3 large crepe myrtles and a lace leaf red maple are shading most go the property, which may also make for soil that doesn't dry out. Moss grows quite well. Cherry laurel got a white crusty substance on it and every bush was affected, Nandina all died over the winter. It looked dead but just sprouted some green on the top. Newly planted Smoke bush didn't make it a season. Much of the grass has also died. I have pics of the other plants but couldn't fit them here.
Baltimore City County Maryland
Expert Response
There are different factors causing the damage you're seeing, but a common issue may be stress from the ongoing drought that has been present for a couple of years now, unless you have been periodically watering the plants.
Nandina were badly damaged by this winter's weather: a combination of not enough soil moisture and prolonged cold snaps. The damage is called winterburn when it kills foliage tissue and turns the leaves brown (or causes brown edges or tips to the leaves), but it can kill branches as well. We've received many questions about Nandina this spring that have been damaged just like yours.
Cutting it back to the ground should result in new growth that refreshes the plant, though it may take a couple years to fully catch up to the height the plant had before winter. If it doesn't rebound, the roots might not have been healthy enough to support regrowth. However, Nandina is an invasive shrub that will soon be banned for sale in Maryland, so we recommend that you replace it with another species.
It sounds like the cherrylaurel have a population of White Prunicola Scale, a common pest on that plant that can be worse when the plants are pruned too often or too heavily, or when they are stressed (such as being planted very close to a house foundation or not watered during drought). You can learn about this type of scale insect and how to manage scale in general on the linked page and on our Introduction to Scale Insects page (the management section is at the bottom). Usually, it involves the use of insecticide or replacing the plant if you prefer to avoid pesticides and the population is high or already causing many branches to die back.
Smokebush are tolerant of drought once they are established (growing in the ground for a few years), but it may not have had a good root system from the start, or it was too stressed by growing conditions (likely drought) if it succumbed and died. They are also vulnerable to over-watering if the roots were kept too consistently wet. We can't really tell what killed the plant, but the conditions they need to grow well are full sun (6+ hours of direct sun in summer) and soil that drains well.
Turfgrass (unless you mean ornamental grass, in which case it will depend on what type it is) requires full sun or a minimum of 4-5 hours of direct sun in summer to do well, soil that drains well but which can be watered if needed during prolonged dry spells (several weeks of little to no rain), and other routine maintenance to promote healthy growth that out-competes weeds. You can find a large amount of information on turfgrass management and problem-solving in the resources on the linked page. You would need to know what type of grass you have (fescue vs. zoysia, for example) to determine what actions to take. If an area is too shady for grass to thrive and there is added root competition with tree/shrub roots, try planting another type of groundcover, although not many of those candidates would handle regular foot traffic like lawns can.
Miri
Nandina were badly damaged by this winter's weather: a combination of not enough soil moisture and prolonged cold snaps. The damage is called winterburn when it kills foliage tissue and turns the leaves brown (or causes brown edges or tips to the leaves), but it can kill branches as well. We've received many questions about Nandina this spring that have been damaged just like yours.
Cutting it back to the ground should result in new growth that refreshes the plant, though it may take a couple years to fully catch up to the height the plant had before winter. If it doesn't rebound, the roots might not have been healthy enough to support regrowth. However, Nandina is an invasive shrub that will soon be banned for sale in Maryland, so we recommend that you replace it with another species.
It sounds like the cherrylaurel have a population of White Prunicola Scale, a common pest on that plant that can be worse when the plants are pruned too often or too heavily, or when they are stressed (such as being planted very close to a house foundation or not watered during drought). You can learn about this type of scale insect and how to manage scale in general on the linked page and on our Introduction to Scale Insects page (the management section is at the bottom). Usually, it involves the use of insecticide or replacing the plant if you prefer to avoid pesticides and the population is high or already causing many branches to die back.
Smokebush are tolerant of drought once they are established (growing in the ground for a few years), but it may not have had a good root system from the start, or it was too stressed by growing conditions (likely drought) if it succumbed and died. They are also vulnerable to over-watering if the roots were kept too consistently wet. We can't really tell what killed the plant, but the conditions they need to grow well are full sun (6+ hours of direct sun in summer) and soil that drains well.
Turfgrass (unless you mean ornamental grass, in which case it will depend on what type it is) requires full sun or a minimum of 4-5 hours of direct sun in summer to do well, soil that drains well but which can be watered if needed during prolonged dry spells (several weeks of little to no rain), and other routine maintenance to promote healthy growth that out-competes weeds. You can find a large amount of information on turfgrass management and problem-solving in the resources on the linked page. You would need to know what type of grass you have (fescue vs. zoysia, for example) to determine what actions to take. If an area is too shady for grass to thrive and there is added root competition with tree/shrub roots, try planting another type of groundcover, although not many of those candidates would handle regular foot traffic like lawns can.
Miri
