Lilly Pilly drooping and brown leaves

[RosesRed333444]

My lilly pilly was drooping from the top and had some brown leaves.  Can some one help me

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @RosesRed333444. It's brilliant to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about your Lilly Pilly.

Sorry for not responding sooner.

It appears like this issue is isolated to the leading central branch. Was it damaged or snapped somehow? The rest of the plant looks particularly healthy, which makes me believe that something specific has happened to this area. Please look and let me know if you see any damage or breaks to the stem.

I'll be looking forward to hearing more and assisting.

Mitchell

[RosesRed333444]

Hello Mitchel.Thank you for replying.  I did look for breaks but there was none. I have noticed 3 more lilly pilly leaves are browning.

[MitchellMc]

Had any hot days recently @RosesRed333444, and how often are you watering? I see a couple of issues here: the proximity of the Colorbond fence and the rocks piled up around the plant's bases. Hot, hot, hot. Those rocks would be getting very toasty on Summer days, and the reflected heat from the fence also would not be helping.

How long have these plants been established here? Is this their first Summer?

The sporadic nature of the die-back is a bit unusual. Could we have a closer look at the leaves, and are there any signs of insect infestation?

Let me mention a couple of our gardening experts, @Adam_W and @Noelle, to see if they have any thoughts.

Mitchell

[Noelle]

Hi @RosesRed333444 

The wilting certainly looks like lack of water and overheating in full sun on a warm day.  I agree completely with Mitchell regarding the rocks and the reflected heated from the fence - not ideal for young trees with soft new growth by any means.

Rock mulching may look attractive and keep the weeds down but they absorb so much heat and they retain it overnight as well so the roots of the poor trees will be constantly baking.

The problems you have seem, to me, to be entirely related to hot soil, reflected heat from the fence and lack of watering. The brown leaves do not appear to be exhibiting signs of insect or disease attack - they are too random and intermittent for either but are likely caused by lack of water as they are near the tips of shoots.

Pull the rocks back from over the roots, water deeply every couple of days to encourage the roots to grow down into the soil (where it may be a little cooler) and if possible erect a shade cloth screen behind them to minimise the reflected heat off the fence.