I'm sorry not to be able to think of anything to help them, it sounds as if the roots have dround.
Can you do anything to stop them flooding in future?

I don't really know what to do but, if it were my yard, I would cut them down to the ground and wait to see if they grow back next year. Otherwise you just need to buy another 50, sorry.

My suggestion to to cut back all the leaves that are black back to the stems, to try and stop any rot getting to the stems and roots and to try and keep them dry, but not too dry. My guess is that in SC you will not get frosts till October/November? So they have time to recover. Fatsia can come back from stems and roots, especially if large and established. My worry is the same as above, that the roots have drowned after 2 weeks under water.

I would love to see a pic of the 50 Fatsia before the flood as that sounds awesome!

we are still flooded and I imagine they will still be sitting in at least 1 ft. of water for another week. I live on the waccamaw river and the water in my yard was over 4 feet deep. Whe you say cut the leaves off, do you mean snap them off like you do when they are dying regularly and you just snap them off at base on stem or do I cut them in a certain way, angle, etc. I will get a picture and send to you in a few so you can see what they look like, They were at least 6 feet tall and wide and now look horrible. I had to replant them all after last flood and these have beem growing 15 years and I am in tears.

I planted my first Fatsia last year and I thought it had died on me. I left it in its distressed state, too frightened to cut back all the dead and dying bits. I reasoned that if it could survive in the wild without intervention then if I did not cause it any more stress, by cutting it back, it might just regenerate in the garden. True we have not been flooded but the ground was very wet from month after month of heavy rain. I am delighted to say that in June it produced its first new leaves and looks more promising than when first planted. I dk if you will be able to rescue your trees but since this is the second time the yard has been flooded it will do no harm to leave them a year to see how they go. In the meantime maybe you could devise a scheme to keep the flood water away from your yard. I dk if you have govt. or local govt advisors who could give you advice but it seems an expensive tree to plant so regularly. If you really cannot do anything about the flooding maybe your local garden centre can give you a list of alternatives which would have more chance of surviving your extreme conditions. One of our other members Spitzhendry was flooded last year and she did several blogs on the disaster and its aftermath. Her home was flooded too so I hope you did not suffer that horror. Its a dreadful thing to have happen, but look on it as an opportunity and do keep us up to speed on how it all works out for you. I'd love to see your photos of how the garden looked before the disaster.

Sorry I did not realise you are a new member. Welcome to Goy and I hope you stick with us. Sorry we could not be more positive for you. You must still be in shock but I hope you are beginning to get back to normal.

Hi again. Now I am left with just gray stalks. No leaves. No new growth and the stalks seem dead. I am cutting to ground level and I guess just really wasting my time. What do y'all think. I am so devastated

If you pull on the stem does it come away in your hand. If so it sounds as if it could be dead. Have a dig around the roots of one which you would not miss, if disturbing it now would kill it. What are they like? Are there any signs of life at all. If you would have expected the plants to start in to growth at this time of year they should already be sending new shoots up from the base if it is still alive. Do you have a county arborist or a department that deals with environmental matters. Contacting them might be useful. They may be able to suggest other species to consider instead of the fatsias. Does your home insurance cover your plants in the garden? If so they might be able to send someone to examine the plants for you. Can you remember what your last batch of plants were like when you removed them to plant these after the last floods?
I have just googled trees in South Carolina and come up with this web site
http://www.state.sc.us/forest
Why not give them a ring they may be able to give you more useful local information.

Thanks for your response. There is no growth whatso ever on any of them except for 1 and it is just a small sprig from last year that did not die. When you cut into the stick it is like cutting dead wood, weighs like 0 ounces. If you pull at them they come out of the ground. All of my other shrubs and bushes in my yard dies too, nothing lived. no insurance will cover, have checked. Flood insurance that I pay for yearly is also useless. Thanks anyway.

I am so sorry to hear you sound totally depressed by what has happened. Don't despair, you have been successful in growing something very beautiful, now it is time to explore what will grow in your very difficult conditions. When one door closes another opens is a well known saying. Believe it. From the SC website I deduced that some trees do grow in flood areas. How big is your yard. Would you be able to grow bigger trees, maybe fewer than you had of the fatsias?

I grew these fatsias around my house in place of shrubs, now I have nothing against my house or anywhere in my yard. I have to think of something that will grow very quickly and I hate regular old bushes. Any suggestions would be great.

Here is a link to the Royal Horticultural Society website which gives a list of plants suitable for heavy clay soils. The clay is invariably wet and these are plants tolerant of having theit roots in water over prolonged periods.
https://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=305#section3

Do you have a local garden centre or nursery where they could give you advice on plants suitable to flourish in your area. It is unfortunate that your garden is subject to flooding, have you or could you introduce measures to help the water either not reach your garden so easily or to help it drain following a flood. You might be throwing good money after bad if you do not consider other measures alongside your replanting plans. Short term to cheer up your yard I would suggest planting up some pots of annuals. Did you contact the forestry people in your area. They will be able to advise on shrubs as well as trees. I do not think there is a cheap solution to this problem unless you are capable of doing some of the work yourself.

Thanks, but there is no way to avoid the floods. I live right on the Waccamaw river, withing 20 feet from my back door. When it floods, it floods and there is nothing I can do as my house looks like a boat on the river. I appreciate your help and will look into the site you sent me for new lants. Thank you

It sounds like an idyllic place to live, its sad that you have to put up with flooding. I hope you will let us know how you get on.