How to treat Lilly Pilly with yellow leaves?

kstroll

I have had a few Lilly Pilly's go yellow and lose their leaves over the past few weeks. It has been dry so have had a bit of extra water when leaves turned yellow but I read somewhere this could actually be caused by over watering? Is this possible? Any suggestions on feed i should use to rectify? Thanks

MitchellMc

Hi @kstroll,

If it’s been dry over the last few weeks and the leaves have turned yellow, it’s unlikely that overwatering was the original cause. It’s more likely the plant was already stressed from a lack of water, and the yellowing prompted you to increase watering. In that situation, the yellowing wouldn’t be caused by overwatering, although continuing to overwater now could slow or prevent recovery if the roots start to suffer.

When a single Lilly Pilly declines while others nearby are doing fine, it usually points to an issue specific to that plant rather than a general watering or feeding problem. If all the plants were getting too much or too little water, you’d normally see similar symptoms across the whole row.

I’d suggest having a very close look at the leaves and stems for any signs of pests such as psyllids, scale or other insects, as these can cause yellowing and leaf drop quite quickly. At this stage, the plant does look quite sickly, and with such sparse foliage, there is unfortunately a reasonable chance it may not recover.

Feeding is unlikely to be the cause here, as nutrient deficiencies tend to show up gradually over many months and would usually affect neighbouring plants in the same way. You could try giving it a seaweed tonic to help reduce stress and support recovery, but the most important thing is identifying the underlying cause, particularly any pest activity, before expecting improvement.

Here's a helpful guide: How to diagnose and revive a sick lilly pilly.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell