What are red spots on lilly pilly leaves?

[deeeff]

hello, approximately one month ago a couple of the plants in my Lilly Lilly pilly hedge started having there leaves drop off from mostly the external and highest leaves. 

I suspected a caterpillar attack as this has happened before and sprayed the products with success ultra. 

The leaves have continued to drop since and seemingly even more plants appear afflicted, almost all of the plants (aside from the very healthy deep green ones) leaves are covered in red dots. What is also odd is that there is new growth emerging despite the plants seemingly unhealthy state. The tips of plants seem to be browning and dropping leaves which spreads from the tip towards the trunk but new shoots sometimes emerge elsewhere.

I can’t seem to find anything similar to this problem on the internet, the plants are the goodbye neighbours acmena smiithi variety. I have attached some pictures for reference. Any help would be much appreciated 

 

 

 

[EricL]

Hello @deeeff 

Thanks for sharing your question regarding your lilly pilly. I propose using Yates 200ml Liquid Copper Fungicide. It is a broad-spectrum fungicide, that is suitable for use on fruit, vegetables and ornamentals, for controlling leaf curl, leaf spots, blights, downy mildew and many more fungal diseases. Think of it as a deterrent to future infections.

Since we are still in the winter, it would not be a good time to fertilize your plant. I can only recommend keeping the bottom of your plant tidy and free of dead leaves to reduce the possibility of spreading the fungus. 

Let me call on our plant guru @Noelle if she has any other recommendations.

If you need further assistance, please let me know.

Eric

[Noelle]

Hi @deeeff 

I have to agree with Eric that it looks very like a fungal disease problem.  Follow the advice he's given and that should assist greatly.

[kayara]

Hi @deeeff, just curious if you ever found a solution? I have a something ongoing with my young lilly pillies (looks a bit different but similar). Thanks.

 

[deeeff]

Hello, 

would love to tell you there was a success story, tried copper fungicide on the plants and lots of TLC with fertiliser, seasol etc but the spotting was still all over the plants and spread to almost every plant. Ended up cutting back all the leaves so all the spots were gone and reapplied fungicides but the issue re emerged and the plants all went bare so I gave up and removed them unfortunately. 

[EricL]

Hello @kayara 

It looks like a form of mottled rust fungus. It appears that some of the leaves are still in good condition. I suggest using Yates 150g Mancozeb Plus Garden Fungicide And Miticide. Please note that this is a concentrate and must be diluted before use. My best advice is to spray underneath the leaves as well for full coverage. Please remember to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and mask when using the spray.

Please make sure to follow the recommended spraying schedule for full effect. 

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

Eric