Question
I have a well-established hedge of Althea. One of the bushes (luckily the end one) has not produced any leaves, nor even the smallest buds, and has small orange dots on the bark and lower branches.  The bushes next to this one are slow to green up, but have signs of life. What might the small (tip of pencil size) orange spots? Should I remove this last bush? The rest of the hedge (about 25 feet long) looks fine. This hedge is a foundation planting on the south side of my S/E Michigan home. I planted this hedge well over 10 years ago  

Answer
Lucy,

The orange dots that you see are the ruiting bodies of a wood rot fungus. This fungus is probably present in the adjacent plants as well, but is not visible at this time. I would recommend removing the end one and fertilizing the remainder of the hedge to keep it as healthy as possible.

This fungus will not kill the plant, so I am not sure what has caused the decline. I would recommend having a certified arborist or tree care company examine the hedge.

Good luck,
Ed Gulliksen