How to care for my dying lilly pillies?

Former Workshop member

Hi All,

need a but of help with my newly planted Lilly Pilly plants. Im an amateur and very new to plants and gardening. I recently cleared all the landscape in my front yard and planted some lilly pilly plants around the entrance to the driveway. Out of 8 plants 3-4 of them look very droopy and like they are dying. At first i was watering them everyday and i was told thats too much and now i water couple times a week. I dug holes very large holes and used a garden mix soil in the hole before planting. Same process on all plants. Ive been told the ground is clay so not sure if there is an issue draining but not sure why some plants are good and some are not doing well. I have uploaded a good looking plant and a sad one. Thanks in advance for any help

EricL

Hello @Former Workshop member

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's delightful to have you join us, and thank you for sharing your question about your Lilly Pilly.

It could be any number of reasons from transplant stress, heat stress to poor soil drainage. Looking at the photo you posted it does not seem that the soil is waterlogged. One way to check is to do a soil drain test. Dig a hole approximately 30cm deep x15cm across close to the Lilly Pilly but away from its root ball. Fill the hole with water and observe how long the water drains away.

If the water drains slowly like 30mm every hour, then it is draining adequately. If it does not drain at all then the water is settling under the plant and drowning its roots. Would it be possible for you to post a close-up photo of the bottom leaves. I just want to rule out insect infestation or a fungal infection.

I also suggest having a quick look at this discussion - Lilly Pilly drooping and brown leaves by @RosesRed333444.

For the meantime, I suggest adding Seasol 600ml Complete Garden Health Treatment to your watering regimen.

Let me call on our experienced members @Noelle, @mich1972 and @Adam_W for their recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Noelle

Hi @Former Workshop member

Ifg you have dug holes into the clay and then back filled with garden mix there's a very real possibility you have created a sump - a lighter soil into which the surrounding clay will drain, causing waterlogging around the roots. The sad tree looks a likely suspect for very wet feet.

The clay layer may not be at a consistent depth which is why some look healthy. others not so. It is important when preparing planting holes that you don't dig into the clay and then fill with a lighter soil mix. If the clay is close to the surface, then build up the soil depth and plant on top of it.

Former Workshop member

Hi Eric & Noelle

Thank you so much for your replies. I will add a picture of what the soil looks like below the garden mix i added.
any suggestions on where i go from here? Do i remove the plant and fill the hole and replant above or are these plants now too far gone?

Also I haven't dug a hole yet to test the drainage but last week i had an opening that i filled with water and it took several days for that to drain away.

Thanks again

EricL

Hi @Former Workshop member

Thanks for posting the extra pictures of the area. If it took several days for the water to drain away, it is highly probable that a sump has settled at the bottom of the plant. At this point the plant is already under stress, I propose digging it out and putting it in a suitable pot so that you can check the bottom of the soil.

An immediate sign that water has been trapped under the plant is that when you dig it out, the bottom of the root ball will be thoroughly soaked. This means that the roots are not able to process oxygen and the plant is suffocating.

If that is the condition of the soil, it will be necessary to dig deeper at least three times the height of the root ball and filling it with a lighter soil mix as @Noelle has recommended.

I suggest giving the plant time to recover and transplant it into the soil when it has regained its health.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Noelle

Hi @Former Workshop member

To prevent waterlogging, it is important when preparing planting holes that you DO NOT dig into the clay and then fill with a lighter soil mix.Any planting holes dug into the clay will form a sump when lighter soil is added around the rootball.

If the clay is close to the surface, then build up the soil depth above the existing ground level and plant on top of it.

Former Workshop member

Sorry Noelle i am confused. I am assuming the clay is the entire soil currently in the ground. Instead of digging If i builld up soil from the top of the current ground and then plant the lily pilly then wouldnt i be in the same

situation with the clay on the bottom. Or will the plant be able to drain sideways? Plus the plant will be alot higher then i wanted

thanks

Former Workshop member

**Update**
i just removed the 4 plants looking sad and they roots were very slightly moist. Barely wet to the touch.. not wet at all as i expected.

i have put them in the pots they came in to see what happens.

EricL

Hello @Former Workshop member

I suggest trying to nurse your Lilly Pilly back to health while in the pots, please make sure to use good draining soil. I suggest trying the soil draining test in one of the spots where you had the plants in.

Here is a link to our best advice: How do you improve clay soil?

I recommend having a look at these discussions:

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric

Akanksha

Hello @Former Workshop member,

Great to see @Noelle and @EricL have been sharing advice and resources related to restoring your plants back to health. I also wanted to share this guide on How to grow and care for a lilly pilly by the Bunnings team in case it proves helpful. It contains more advice on nurturing lilly pillies, including how to water them.

Good luck!

Akanksha