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How to treat Silver princess eucalyptus fungal infection?

Hi everybody - Am looking for some assistance re a silver princess gum issue as our silver princess looks to have quite a bad infection, I'm guessing fungal?

It is a mature tree about 5m tall, but the affected leaves are quite widespread and reach high up the tree to near the top. It has been dropping leaves quite a lot for a while.

Would be eternally grateful if anybody could recommend an appropriate treatment.

Thanks - Dan

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Comments

MitchellMc

Hi @DanD1,

Despite my efforts, I've not been able to pinpoint the cause of this discolouration. There are a few possibilities, but nothing I'm confident enough to call the reason. Let me mention our resident horticulturalist, @Noelle, to see if she has any thoughts.

Mitchell

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/36931#Comment_36931

Thanks Mitchell

Noelle

Hi @DanD1

IMHO, I think it looks very like a fungal infection that is relatively common among eucalypts. I do not think it is myrtle rust as there does not appear to be any pustules present. This disease is most often seen on the older leaves and is more prevalent when conditions have been humid - fungal diseases are always more common and widespread when humidity is high.

Spraying with a fungicide is not very practical especially on a taller tree. Allowing the soil to dry out a bit is often helpful as is raking up and removing fallen leaves, but generally the trees will survive without any specific treatment.

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/36971#Comment_36971

Oh okay, thanks @Noelle - It seems to be affecting the tree all the way to the top and looks quite bare so I'm worried it is dying. Is there anything else I can do to help the tree?

Noelle

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/80743#Comment_80743

@DanD1 , probably not much. Eucalypts that look like they are on the way out may often produce new shoots (epicormic growth) from the main branches and trunk, rather like trees damaged by fire will do. It is pretty much a waiting game unfortunately.

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/104966#Comment_104966

Thanks @Noelle appreciate the help - Fingers crossed I guess 😬

gamefisherman

Get a systemic fungicide spray 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.

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/40827#Comment_40827

Thanks @gamefisherman, I will give that a go 🙂 Did you have any recommendations for systemic fungicide and anti rot spray that are more favourable for princess gums?

gamefisherman

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/82554#Comment_82554

@DanD1 No worries mate. I’m no expert, just a person that likes to garden. Perhaps head to your local Bunnings and ask an expert re which ones to use. I always try to get a product that says it is suitable for use with Australian natives but this is not always the case due to limited product ranges for some sprays, fertilisers etc. All I did was a lot of Google searches to find what I needed as this is a problem that I couldn’t find much help with so I just did the dr Google thing over time. I think keep it as simple as possible however. Main thing is to get going with the sprays as we are coming into spring very soon and the new growth is already growing. I just don’t want to say buy brand x to you and it doesn’t work or worse. Just do your research re brands and go for it. Sorry I can’t be more specific re which ones to use but I’m confident that if you Google what you need you’ll find the answers. Good luck.

MitchellMc

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/106060#Comment_106060

Hi @DanD1,

A couple of products you could consider are Yates 200ml Liquid Copper Fungicide and Yates 500ml Anti Rot Fungicide. As mentioned by @gamefisherman, our gardening experts in-store are also available to provide recommendations.

Mitchell

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/106060#Comment_106060

Appreciate you taking the time to help and very grateful for the advice! I found a couple of blogs that said PhosAcid 200 and Mancozeb are good so will start there!

gamefisherman

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/120189#Comment_120189

Nice one. Good luck with it mate.

anch

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/120189#Comment_120189

Ooh I think my young Silver Princess has the same ailment but mine also has a very unhealthy looking stem!

Have you tried those two products as yet? Anything fungal will require persistence and multiple applications but I’m keen to know if you’ve noticed any improvement already?

EricL

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/128925#Comment_128925

Hello @anch

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's wonderful to have you join us.

Let me tag @DanD1 to make them aware of your questions. I'm sorry to hear that your eucalyptus has a fungal infection as well. It would be interesting to find out from Dan what the results were after spraying the plant. But if you look at the reviews of the Yates 200ml Liquid Copper Fungicide, you'll see that they are quite positive and the spray effective.

If you do decide to use the copper fungicide, please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a paint mask. Please make sure to follow all the safety guidelines printed at the back of the container.

If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.

Eric

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/134402#Comment_134402

Hi Eric - Thanks for thinking of me! My tree has been quite affected with probably 80% of leaves browning so I may have gotten in to late. I have been using the Yates root rot and it seems to have halted things in the remaining leaves but I'm not sure the tree will come through unfortunately. I may try add this other fungicide to see if it helps

gamefisherman

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/128925#Comment_128925

Hi, I have the same problem I think but I don’t think mine is now fungal as there are small caterpillars and larvae that are living inside those whitish brown pimple type of things that are attached to the tree branches and now killing my tree. Out of interest did you end up spraying it with any insecticide? Did it work? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

JacobZ

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/134626#Comment_134626

Hi @gamefisherman,

Allow me to tag @DanD1 so they are notified of your questions.

I am currently looking at the post you have made (Silver Princess dying, caterpillar/larvae) and will respond shortly.

Jacob

DanD1

https://www.workshop.bunnings.com.au/discussion/comment/134626#Comment_134626

Hi @gamefisherman - I was just spraying it with the fungicides. Unfortunately my tree appears to be completely dead now 🙁

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