What is wrong with my native flowering currant?

Question: We are trying to determine if our flowering currant plant has a disease of if the symptoms are related to weather or something else.

The plant had been very healthy and grew very quickly and was quite large. It's about 2 years old and is planted in a sunny spot and during the summer got regular water. Then around late September we noticed that some of the leaves on one side of the plant were drying up and some were falling off. None of the branches were wilting. The leaves on the other side of the plant looked normal and there are still some green ones in that area. Although many of the leaves are now gone there are lots of healthy looking buds on the leafless branches.

We thinned out some of the branches but are unsure of anything else we should do.

I have included 3 photos that show some of what I described.
First, a wide shot of the plant showing dying branches on the left and green ones on the right.
Second, a close-up of a branch with dead dried up leaves and some leafless branches with buds.
Third, some green leaves with dried brown areas on the edges.

I have more photos available.

Thank you for any assistance with this.

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied November 13, 2024, 3:51 PM EST
response: Thank you for your question.  Browning around leaf margins (edges) is typically attributable to a water issue--either too much or too little.  Did you use a water soil meter to see how much water was actually getting to the plant roots?  Is there any structure blocking it from getting in or getting out?  Did you fertilize the plants?  Some of the leaves look a bit yellow--an indication that they are deficient in nitrogen.  These plants prefer a soil pH near 6, slightly acidic.  I would suggest that you submit a soil sample to our nearest lab, and ask for their recommended soil amendments for this species.  Here is their website:  https://al-labs-west.com/  If the problems persist next year, you can send plant samples to the OSU Plant Clinic:  https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/submit-sample/how-submit-plant-materials  They can diagnose if there is a disease at work.  Good luck!

responder: The Question Asker Replied November 13, 2024, 4:28 PM EST
response: I sent a question and I included 3 images. I can't figure out from the answer I receive if the person who answer my question looked at my images? Maybe there was an issue with viewing them?The answer seemed to skip over a couple of my questions. What I wanted to know was why there were lots of branches of my currant that lost all their leaves? This happened on about half of the plant. The response did not address this. The plant got plenty of water. Will the leaves fall off in just one section if it gets too much water? What about what appear to be buds on the branches? Will those die off in the winter or leave out next spring. There seemed to be a problem with the images I sent. Please let me know if you could see them. Thank you, Jeanie Golino

responder: An Ask Extension Expert Replied November 13, 2024, 4:52 PM EST
response: I quite certainly looked at the images.  But diagnosis of plant problems may be impossible just through viewing photos.  They exhibit none of the symptoms evidenced by the 6 diseases most commonly found in currant plants (https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-and-disease-descriptions?title=ribes) that can be diagnosed without an examination of plant tissue, especially the roots.  There are no photos of roots included.  The new budding  on the canes indicates that the blackened leaves may be only a temporary response to abiotic (water, sun, nutrient) factors, from which the plant can recover.  We cannot predict whether the buds will drop off or remain viable.  If you want a more in-depth evaluation of the plants, you can send plant, root and soil samples to the OSU Plant Clinic:  https://bpp.oregonstate.edu/plant-clinic/submit-sample/how-submit-plant-materials