Silver Princess Eucalyptus marks on leaves

[PN]

Hi @MitchellMc 

Hope you are keeping well. I had a question. We got a silver princess eucalyptus recently and its leaves have this marks in the last couple of weeks. How can we treat these marks and what kind of disease is it ? Please see photo below. 

Thanks

Partha

Community manager's note: Check out How to diagnose a sick plant for expert advice.

[MitchellMc]

I'm sorry to hear your plant still has issues, Partha (@PN).

It appears to be a bit of scorching to the leaves, which could be because of buffeting winds, or it's just too hot out in the front yard. In hotter climates, they enjoy some dappled afternoon shade.

To transplant, it might be worth waiting until it cools off. If you do it now and have a couple of hot days, then it's almost certainly going to be the end for the plant. Could you pop some shadecloth over it on the hot days to protect it in the front yard? 

If you were to transplant, you'd want to dig the whole root ball out without damaging it and resist disturbing it at all. Dig your new hole and place the rootball into it, backfilling around.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[PN]

Hi @MitchellMc Mitchell

Thank you so much. I will definitely get the shade cloth to over the plant. Transplant I had the same worry re killing it in the process. 

I will keep you updated on how I go. 

Thanks

Partha

[Sannah]

Hi there,

I am experiencing a similar problem with my Silver Princess and am just wondering whether you could help me solve the issue. I have trimmed off a few leaves/stems that seem to be affected, however the grey / black splotches still seem to be appearing. Thanks

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Sannah. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about your Silver Princess.

You might like to have a read through page one of this discussion where @EricL gives some advice that appeared to solve the issue. The most common diseases for eucalyptus are fungal and bacterial rots, especially root rot. Brown spots forming on the leaves are a good indicator. Root rot is a bit harder to diagnose as the initial damage happens below the soil's surface. Typically these diseases come about due to wet weather, poor drainage, or damp conditions that prevent air circulation from reaching the tree's centre. 

Applying a copper-based fungicide like Yates 200ml Liquid Copper Fungicide would be the best place to start. You must also continue diligently removing affected leaves to stop the spread of disease. It's also worth cleaning up around the base of the tree and removing leaves from the ground where disease can spread from.

Do you have good drainage in the area, and how often are you watering? Any clay layer? Do you check that the soil is dry 10cm down before watering? How long does the soil take to dry out after watering? 
 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[gamefisherman]

Get a systemic fungicide spray @PN and give it a good spray. It may need two applications two weeks apart. Then give it two sprays of white oil over a fortnight. Pull any mulch back from the trunk so the ground around it can dry. Next sprinkle some anti fungal powder as well as spreading a slow release native fertiliser. Wash in with Seasol. Get the tree healthy again takes a bit of time but this will work. Keep branches from reaching the ground (ie cut them off before they hit the ground) and regularly rake around the canopy on the lawn to get rid of diseased or old leaves. If not resolved in a month after the above just repeat the above. You can also spray it with copper, or pyrethrum as an secondry response. Good luck, they are a stunning tree. Oh I forgot they don’t like wet feet so spray an anti rot tree root spray as well to protect the roots.