How to treat Hardenbergia Violacea leaves turning brown?

cranberryend

Hi there, my beautiful Hardenbergia has been doing well for the past two years.  It had new growth up until about a fortnight ago, which browning up along with all the other leaves.  I did notice some of the leaves had a bit of white/blueish underside and intended to research it - wondering if this has something to do with it?  Is there anything I can do to save it?

Any assistance much appreciated.

JacobZ

Hi @cranberryend,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings workshop community and thank you for your question.

I'd suggest you have a quick read through How to diagnose a sick plant from @Noelle our resident horticultural guru, this will likely shed some light.

Can I ask you to grab some photos of the white/bluish leaves up close? Identifying what this discolouration is will likely shed some light on the cause of the issue.

Browning leaves like this are usually a stress reaction to over or underwatering, nutrient deficiency, fungus or insect attack.

The first place to start is by inspecting the soil at the base of the tree. If it is constantly damp, then we'll need to look at increasing the drainage of the soil. This can be done by improving the soil health with Compost. Healthy soil will attract beneficial insects such as earthworms which will dig through the soil and create drainage channels. If it is bone dry, then increase the watering and add mulch around the base of the tree to prevent moisture loss from evaporation.

Nutrient deficiency is also a possible cause and adding some Scotts Osmocote All Purpose Controlled Release Fertiliser to the base of the tree will help regardless of the cause. If nutrient deficiency is the cause, then giving the tree some additional nutrients will help stop the issue.  If it's not the cause, giving it nutrients to help fight the cause of the issue is still worthwhile.

Once you've uploaded some images of the white/bluish leaves, I'll address the fungus issue as this sounds like it could be fungus.

In terms of insects, the approach varies depending on what you find. It doesn't look like an insect attack, but you should still investigate the tree for any signs. If there are holes in the trunk, chewed leaves or a considerable amount of insects on the tree, please upload a photo so we can recommend a method of managing it.

Let me know what you think and if you have further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Jacob