pomolo said:

My follow up question for today. I have a Qld warratah (Alloxylon wickhamii) that has been in the ground for a few years. It’s well alive but it struggles because it’s in fairly solid clay soil. That aside, the whole tree (4ft) has yellow leaves. Almost to cream now actually. What can I do for it? It has bee fertilised with native mix and gets watered but it resists all my good treatment We have a second tree that’s been in the ground for at least a dozen years and it started off the same way. This second tree is now as it should look and it’s got it’s first flower this year.

I would love to be able to get this second tree up and running faster and at the very least, green. I’ll be back to check on any replies.

Sounds like it could be a cation exchange issue, ‘spech with the clay soil and such… I’d be forking the root zone, and then adding a manure (Is Cow okay for Waratahs?) and rubbing that into the soil… ‘spech the holes and then I would apply gypsum, some b’n‘b, and then heaps of well rotted organic material as a mulch.

And you could even try and get some Agriform tabs and jam a crowbar into the soil and shove a 30gram tablet into each hole…

pain master said:

pomolo said:

My follow up question for today. I have a Qld warratah (Alloxylon wickhamii) that has been in the ground for a few years. It’s well alive but it struggles because it’s in fairly solid clay soil. That aside, the whole tree (4ft) has yellow leaves. Almost to cream now actually. What can I do for it? It has bee fertilised with native mix and gets watered but it resists all my good treatment We have a second tree that’s been in the ground for at least a dozen years and it started off the same way. This second tree is now as it should look and it’s got it’s first flower this year.

I would love to be able to get this second tree up and running faster and at the very least, green. I’ll be back to check on any replies.

Sounds like it could be a cation exchange issue, ‘spech with the clay soil and such… I’d be forking the root zone, and then adding a manure (Is Cow okay for Waratahs?) and rubbing that into the soil… ‘spech the holes and then I would apply gypsum, some b’n‘b, and then heaps of well rotted organic material as a mulch.

And you could even try and get some Agriform tabs and jam a crowbar into the soil and shove a 30gram tablet into each hole…

My own Qld waratah thread! Cool. Read what you had to say but I wonder if it’s wise to disturb the soil because these trees have an aversion to soil disturbance according to all the books. I shall await your reply.

OK, I’ve taken a bit of a read through the old books and yeah, this species is prone to dropping dead…. They hate being really dry for too long as they are truly sub-tropical. And they love a sheltered position.

So perhaps, my advice would be to heavily mulch and water and then monitor…. and prayer.

pain master said:

pomolo said:

My follow up question for today. I have a Qld warratah (Alloxylon wickhamii) that has been in the ground for a few years. It’s well alive but it struggles because it’s in fairly solid clay soil. That aside, the whole tree (4ft) has yellow leaves. Almost to cream now actually. What can I do for it? It has bee fertilised with native mix and gets watered but it resists all my good treatment We have a second tree that’s been in the ground for at least a dozen years and it started off the same way. This second tree is now as it should look and it’s got it’s first flower this year.

I would love to be able to get this second tree up and running faster and at the very least, green. I’ll be back to check on any replies.

Sounds like it could be a cation exchange issue, ‘spech with the clay soil and such… I’d be forking the root zone, and then adding a manure (Is Cow okay for Waratahs?) and rubbing that into the soil… ‘spech the holes and then I would apply gypsum, some b’n‘b, and then heaps of well rotted organic material as a mulch.

And you could even try and get some Agriform tabs and jam a crowbar into the soil and shove a 30gram tablet into each hole…

They aren’t waratahs at all and Fairhill told me they accidentally spilt a big lot of dynamic lifter under theirs with no ill effects. My Alloxylon flammeum is in crappy soil and powering on but a neighbour just a couple houses away can’t get one to live.

pain master said:

OK, I’ve taken a bit of a read through the old books and yeah, this species is prone to dropping dead…. They hate being really dry for too long as they are truly sub-tropical. And they love a sheltered position.

So perhaps, my advice would be to heavily mulch and water and then monitor…. and prayer.

That’s what we have been doing but haven’t tried prayer yet. I’ll save that for desperation time.