Date: 1/11/2018 08:27:18
From: roughbarked
ID: 1296679
Subject: re: Not A Gardener - Eucalypt help!

NBates said:


Hi, a few years ago we planted a eucalypt (we think it’s a yellow box). It has grown magnificently from a half a foot high seedling to a magnificently sized tree.

We have noticed this year, however, that all the lower branches are now brown. We live in the inner west of Melbourne and are wondering if it’s just the lack of rain or whether something else is the problem.

We’d also like to know whether it’s wise to cut off these branches at this time of the year.

Help! We aren’t gardeners unfortunately and were quite proud of the success we’ve had with the tree until now.

Thanks in advance.

(Let me know if you’d like a photo too – the brown branches are about a 1/4 of the tree)

It is likely to be water related. This often happens if the tree has wet feet(high water table rising salt or bad drainage). Though this would hardly be the year to see high water tables, it could still be related to salt left behind by a retreating water table. Yellow Box planted on calcerous soil types can go completely yellow.
A Yellow Box can well do without its lower branches. It won’t hurt the tree to remove them but I’d like to see photos if you can manage it.

In the street I live, the street trees were originally Yellow Box but the soil is calcrete. They initially grew to large sizes but slowly turned yellow. Not to be daunted, I planted one out the front and another out the back of my property. It is true that I took drastic measuress to counter the alkalinity of the soil. The tree in the front yard is now 36 years old and is now more than 20 metres tall.

This is the one out the back that was planted a decade later than the first and received nil follow up water from my hand.

.

Compared with the Fuzzy Box also planted at the same time. They are both about 12m.

Reply Quote View full thread