Hello, I bought a small eucalypt last year and it's grown quite quickly but its new leaves have this red blotchiness. It is very smooth, no bumps or spores. Do you know what it could be please?
Hello @OranaGardener
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's sensational to have you join us, and thanks for sharing your question about your eucalyptus tree.
It's possible that the tree is not getting enough water due to the brown ridges appearing on the edge of the leaf. Have you changed your watering habits lately? I'm a bit hesitant to diagnose it as a fungal infection as the leaf appears to be intact with no bumps, bruises or spores.
Let me call on our experienced members @Noelle and @mich1972 for their recommendation.
If you have any other questions we can help with, please let us know.
Eric
Thanks, Eric. I'm fairly sure it's not lack of water. In fact I was wondering whether it could be from over-watering?
Good morning @OranaGardener @EricL The red spots looks like a fungal / bacterial infection . Does your soil get really wet ? Too wet maybe ? I want to wait until @Noelle has a chance to look at this.
Hi Mich,
The soil is not naturally water-logged or even damp but I may have over-watered it by hand. It doesn't seem like a fungal infection as the leaf is very smooth. This morning I noticed that the newest tiny leaves are dying.
Hi @OranaGardener,
Do you have any photos of the actual tree? Are there other things that don't seem normal with the tree? On the branches or the trunk?
Can you take a photo of one of the older leaves next to a red one?
Do you know what species your eucalyptus tree is?
Any more information you can provide will help diagnose the issue.
Jacob
Hi Jacob,
My tree is a Corymbia - Flowering Gum, and is just over a metre tall. It's been in the ground for 11 months and has more than doubled in size in that time.
Here are a couple of photos of it in situ and a couple of it's leaves.
All of the new leaves are affected.
Hi @OranaGardener
I doubt it is disease or fungal related as the discoloration is in the leaf rather than on it. It almost looks like it is something environmental caused by the tree not liking something about where it is growing. Could it be that the new growth has been exposed to frost/cold winds? If it is just the newer softer leaves and shoot tips affected then there's been an 'event' of some sort that could be the likely cause. Without being able to see the tree in its location, it's a bit hard to diagnose.
May I suggest using a seaweed tonic once a fortnight diluted to the colour of weak tea, to see if this builds up the strength of the new growth.
Thanks, Noelle,
It has been windy, but not cold. I'll try with the seaweed tonic and let you know how it goes.
Thanks for your help everyone, I really appreciate it.
@Noelle's advice is always good and I'd suggest in this instance the best course of action.
Purely for your interest and that of any readers, while looking into potential causes for the red on your leaves, I have found some mention of Anthocyanin, which is a plant pigment similar to Chlorophyll that is responsible for red tones. There are scholarly articles that are unfortunately hidden behind paywalls that seem to indicate this is a natural mechanism of protecting young leaves from high levels of sunlight.
Seeing that your particular species of eucalyptus tree has quite a lot of red tones, I suspect this pigment is quite present in your tree and the red on your leaves might be a natural way of your tree protecting young leaves from sunburn.
Just some food for thought.
That is very interesting, Jacob! I wonder if it could be the answer. It's certainly in a sunny spot and we are underneath the hole in the ozone layer down here! I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks for your interest and help.
Hi, I posted a few weeks ago about a young eucalypt in my garden that had strange, red markings. Well, since then the newest leaves have died and the tree has stopped growing. I've fed it a little weak seaweed solution but otherwise have withheld water, in case it had been overwatered. It's had rain though.
But now my lovely Silver Princess, which is about 12 years old, seems to have similar markings on its new leaves. They may not be the same and I hope they aren't, as I think my little eucalypt is dying and I don't want my Silver Princess to die! Do you think its the same thing?
I have combined this post with your last as the context may help our readers better understand and offer advice.
As @Noelle mentioned in your earlier post, the discolouration looks to be in the leaves as opposed to on it like you would expect with a fungal issue.
Is it possible to get some close-up photos of the soil around your trees?
A close-up of the trunk of the trees would also help. Can you see any insects or strange markings on the tree itself?
How to treat Silver princess eucalyptus from @DanD1 is a similar discussion where potential solutions have been offered.
Allow me to tag @mich1972 and @robchin to see what they think.
I'm sorry I can't be more help, but this one has me stumped.
Thanks @JacobZ for looping me in.
Firstly - sorry to hear your plants aren't going well. Eucalyptus plants do vary a lot and are susceptible to various pests and diseases. Good news is that it very seldom actually kills them.
I'm not an expert of pests of Eucs but they look like different things to me but I couldn't tell you exaclty what they are. I can tell you that it isn't Myrtle Rust though - which may kill your plants.
I would note a couple of things:
1) Never good to feed a plant if it is sick.
2) You are right - over watering can be bad for establishing plants.
Good luck.
