Instant impression plants next to charging wiring

[spdpsba]

Has anyone noticed any of the instant impression (decorative bushy type) plants next to home charge wiring slowly decay and die? This is our second decorative bushy plant we have kept next to the wiring cable - just to hide the wiring cable as it is near our front entrance. I am neither a electrician nor a gardener or has any interest in any of the above. Can anyone explain this weird thing as two expensive pot plants completely decayed and died within 4 months?. Of course, I water them and look after them and they are local variety that grows well in this part of the east. Does electrical energy dissipate so much and affect plants?

 

[Dilly]

Nope. The reverse in fact, but it is a 20 year old clematis and the charger has been there since July 2018

 

[Tdriver]

Several possibilities, watering, temperature. When charging there can be an electrical field created around the power cable that is harmless to us but may affect the plant. Try growing the same plant in an area away from the cable and see if you get the same result.

 

[MrBadger]

Has anyone noticed any of the instant impression (decorative bushy type) plants next to home charge wiring slowly decay and die? This is our second decorative bushy plant we have kept next to the wiring cable - just to hide the wiring cable as it is near our front entrance. I am neither a electrician nor a gardener or has any interest in any of the above. Can anyone explain this weird thing as two expensive pot plants completely decayed and died within 4 months?. Of course, I water them and look after them and they are local variety that grows well in this part of the east. Does electrical energy dissipate so much and affect plants?

You don't say what the plants were. Lots of explainable reasons why some plants (decorative busy type is pretty vague) will just die if you have wrong plant, wrong place. Expensive doesn't fix wrong plant choice.

 

[pgkevet]

Also you say in a pot..your pot soil may not be same pH as local soil? Drainage may also be different as well as sun/shade parasite burdens etc

 

[Pandinium]

Maybe it’s the 5G

 

[spdpsba]

You don't say what the plants were. Lots of explainable reasons why some plants (decorative busy type is pretty vague) will just die if you have wrong plant, wrong place. Expensive doesn't fix wrong plant choice.

See the picture, it can survive both in

shades and directly exposed. It is still in the pot. The charging cable is just behind the wooden frame.

 

[MrBadger]

Looks like fireblight. Nothing to do with EV's etc. Also, might also be potbound, although my money still on fireblight. Pyracantha can get quite big and will outgrow the pot.

 

[spdpsba]

Looks like fireblight. Nothing to do with EV's etc. Also, might also be potbound, although my money still on fireblight. Pyracantha can get quite big and will outgrow the pot.

The one before this wasn’t Pyracantha but still it died. Don’t remember what it was. But again an instant one.

 

[Astrape]

Growing plants in pots is not at all easy as you need to give them the right amount of water, not too much, not too little, and allow the soil to dry out just the right amount that the roots prefer between waters. You also need to add plant food at the right times of year. In the incredibly hot summer we had achieving this balance was hard. Many pots in garden centres are the minimum size for the plant in them to reduce weight.

It’s a lot easier if you can transfer the plant to the ground. Take a photo of the location to the garden centre and ask for their advice on what to plant there successfully.

Alternatively get a BIG pot with a tough plant in so the watering can be less fussy. A Nitida bamboo would work well.

 

[GRiLLA]

Do you have any other 'instant' plants in a similar position that haven't died? Any experiment needs a control.

 

[tsh2]

Even the pyracantha that I planted in the ground struggled with the lack of water last year. This one looks quite big for being in a pot. Cut away the worst of the dead bits, it may still recover.

 

[khyros]

IF you want a scientific answer then you need a scientific method.
Get a positive control 1: buy another plant like that AT THE SAME TIME, and place it far enough from the charger but in similar light and water conditions. Shade, humidity, wind, etc.
Get a positive control 2: buy another plant you know has grown well in the past in your property and put it next to that pot
and if you are patient enough and want a negative control, switch off the charger for 4 months and see if the plant survive

 

[init6]

Cut away the worst of the dead bits, it may still recover.

Be sure to disinfect your tools in case it is fireblight. Perhaps that's how it spread from the previous plant.

 

[spdpsba]

Growing plants in pots is not at all easy as you need to give them the right amount of water, not too much, not too little, and allow the soil to dry out just the right amount that the roots prefer between waters. You also need to add plant food at the right times of year. In the incredibly hot summer we had achieving this balance was hard. Many pots in garden centres are the minimum size for the plant in them to reduce weight.

It’s a lot easier if you can transfer the plant to the ground. Take a photo of the location to the garden centre and ask for their advice on what to plant there successfully.

Alternatively get a BIG pot with a tough plant in so the watering can be less fussy. A Nitida bamboo would work well.

That was very helpful, I think that was the main issue in the hot summer - to get the right amount of water. A big pot with a tough plant sounds like the right choice. Much appreciated!

 

[spdpsba]

IF you want a scientific answer then you need a scientific method.
Get a positive control 1: buy another plant like that AT THE SAME TIME, and place it far enough from the charger but in similar light and water conditions. Shade, humidity, wind, etc.
Get a positive control 2: buy another plant you know has grown well in the past in your property and put it next to that pot
and if you are patient enough and want a negative control, switch off the charger for 4 months and see if the plant survive

I understand the ‘Uni effect’, thanks for the suggestion and of course you know buying from Scotsdale isn’t cheap. Will look for somewhere else where I can get something for few quids and try your experiment.

 

[davidmc]

Outside shot here:

Is it a Cat or dog (Or wild animal) that is using the area around the plants as a bathroom? (Pee/spray not Nr2)

 

[spdpsba]

Outside shot here:

Is it a Cat or dog (Or wild animal) that is using the area around the plants as a bathroom? (Pee/spray not Nr2)

Cat, yes…neighbours

 

[khyros]

I understand the ‘Uni effect’, thanks for the suggestion and of course you know buying from Scotsdale isn’t cheap. Will look for somewhere else where I can get something for few quids and try your experiment.

I was only half joking - but worth getting something cheap and seeing if it dies too. In my front drive plants kept dying until we noticed a fungi infection that wasn't too obvious.

 

[Adopado]

Has anyone noticed any of the instant impression (decorative bushy type) plants next to home charge wiring slowly decay and die? This is our second decorative bushy plant we have kept next to the wiring cable - just to hide the wiring cable as it is near our front entrance. I am neither a electrician nor a gardener or has any interest in any of the above. Can anyone explain this weird thing as two expensive pot plants completely decayed and died within 4 months?. Of course, I water them and look after them and they are local variety that grows well in this part of the east. Does electrical energy dissipate so much and affect plants?

I have a long run of SWA cable from the house to the charge point which passes under a grassed area, across a burn (stream), up a slope through bushes, along the base of a rough "hedge" consisting of various bushes including beech, birch, willow, hawthorn, sycamore etc etc for 25 metres. Oh how I wish there was a negative effect on growth on any of these things!