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Lilly pilly after this rain Hey guys, Just planted these. And we have just had a lot of rain on the east coast. They are now losing all their leaves. See pics. Are they dead?
Lilly Pilly in pots Hi, I have recently purchased a number of lilly pillies and placed them in some very large pots around the house. I live in North Queensland and the plants get full sun for about half the day due to the different sides of the house the plants are located (East, West and North). The plants are all established (bought that way) and are about 1.5 metres tall. The soil they are planted in is a lose loam with small rocks on top (to aid water retention). I use seasol and a slow release fertilzer and the pots (square and rectangular) have holes in the bottom for drainage. I have already trimmed them once and do tip pruning. The plants are yet to flower and are responding well to the light pruning. I have put in confidor pellets for pests but have had scale and black soot which I am treating with confidor spray and white oil. I intend on keeping them in the pots so I was wondering how often should I water the plants as a guide?. At the present I water deeply once every three to four days but it gets hot in summer here. I have heard that you can overwater lilly pilly's but I know pots dry out faster. Also will keeping the lilly pillys in pots effect thier roots, growth and could they split the pots (cement over fibreglass)?. Thanks
Lilly Pilly New Growth Wilting Hi, I am hoping for some help with my lilly pillies. I have 2 Big Reds which have been thriving since I planted them, but over the last few weeks (since the weather has warmed up), all the new growth that comes through seems to get to a certain point and then wilt and die off as shown in the picture. Could this be a watering issue or something else? How often should I be watering the trees? They are in full sun and have been there for about a year, in this time they've grown about 1.5m. I would really appreciate any help as I'm relying on this season's growth to provide some privacy from my neighbours. Thanks!
Lilly Pilly pruning and pests Hi! I am in need of some advice for my neglected Lilly pilly hedge. It is currently very holely and thin on the bottom, with many gaps as in pictures provided. I have already taken off atleast 30cm on top, and on sides. However, I’m wondering if anyone would advise to take more off the top which would allow further new growth below? Another 1/3 off? It already has new growth coming through in lower half. Additionally, it has white wax scale and new growth being eaten by a green grub I have seen, most likely from the Lilly pilly beetle from what I’ve read. Is pest oil and eco-neem with a bit of eco-oil the best bet to rid of these nasties? Cheers!
Lilly Pilly stunted at the top Hi Guys, I have a lilly pilly hedge at the back of our property that is about 4 years old. There is a section that mysteriously does not want to grow any further and we are wondering why. The section to the left and a small section to the right of the fence behind us is growing fine, although the section over the neighbours fence is purely stunted. I understand it appears to have been hedged and the ends are quite thick, but I would have thought over the summer these would have grown further. I suspect the hedge is being pruned by our neighbour without our consent, but we cannot confirm this. From the images, I just want to know if there is some reason that due to the location, or sun-exposure, or condition of the pruned top section... is it possible that it won't grow higher? For whatever it's worth... the hedge is aligned east-west... so gets as much sun as it wants.
Lilly pilly under attack!! Dear garden gurus Is there someone who can help me to identify the pest in the attached photos that is quickly destrpying my Lilly Pilly hedge please? Thanks Joh
Lily Pilly - the best hedge ever This isn't a question, I would just like to recommend the Lily Pilly as the perfect hedge or screen. I have around 4 different hedge locations, some are more screens to block our neighbours, others are more formal and lower. the Syzygium australe or Lili Pilly is perfect for all situations. it has very attractive glossy foliage, pretty creamy flowers, tasty fruits and it povides cover right down to ground level. Yes it does need trimming and it can get a few pests, but overall I'd say its as good as you can get.
Lily Pilly Hedge problem Hi, I have a lilly pilly hedge vor privacy in my front yard. 2 years ago I had a gardener cut the hedge and he introduced a little green bug that has been eating all the new growth on the hedge I have used everything on bunnings shelf without success even richgrow bug killa and now it has changed colour and groes only in spots.I have watered and sprayed with seasol,seasol gold and native fertiliser but my hedge is dying can anybody please help?
Lobelia Companion I have found some of the most amazingly deep blue coloured lobelia for by borders but I would like to try contrasting them with something other than Alyssum. Does you have any suggestions?
Looking for Herb Seeds I have only become interested in growing herbs this year and the difference between fresh picked and the bought stuff is amazing. I have quite a few of the more popular herbs growing like Basil, Tarragon, Thyme etc, but after months of searching (eg Bunnings Warehouse) I have never seen the following, either in Punnets or seeds. Bay leaf, Chamomile, Caraway. I would be grateful if someone may suggest where I may obtain some of these. Thank you
Looking for Mature Elm to Transplant Our company is looking for an English or Dutch Elm - 200 to 250 mm in diameter. We wish to transplant it from its home to a large development in the Melbourne CBD. Needs to be a great specimen and access for bobcat, machinery. We can provide a payment for the right tree.
Magnolia Tree Dying? Wondering if someone can help. We planted about 15 beautiful Magnolia trees approx 3 years ago. All are growing beautifully except for 1 which appears to be dying. It was fine up until 3-4 months ago when the leaves started browning. I tried giving it extra water but didnt seem to help. Can anyone help? Is it dead? Can it be saved? It seems to be sprouting towards the bottom as pictured which makes me think its still alive. Appreciate the help!
Malleable Creeper Thanks so much for taking the time to read! We are currently planning our build and we have ALWAYS been obsessed with buildings covered in vines or creepers! Our building material is Hemp Crete (non negotiable) so we need to re-render the walls every 7 years, thus, we need to be able to get behind the creeper somehow! We were thinking of constructing a series of 1-2 metre mesh, or steel grates that will sit in front of the walls leaving about 5-10 cm's between wall and grate! Alternatively are there creepers that would keep well in pots to these sizes that could be suspended onto the grate/mesh and then could open out like a gate for even easier access to be able to render the wall and no need to worry about bending the stem/trunk! Any suggestions for how to make this whole thing easier would be wonderful as we really want to make our creeper dreams come true just dont know how! Then when it comes time to re-render the wall we would "unhook" the top of this grate and lean it 30-40% on a ladder or something and render behind!. I would love any suggestions for vines with trunks that are not too rigid and would take the sudden tilt forward. - by the way this plan is not set in stone its just the only way we can think of making this dream happen! The other idea we had was putting the creepers in pots (attached to the grate) and then swing the grates open like doors making the wall behind even easier to access. But do creepers do well in pots? Would we need to somehow get at the roots every few years or ? Something suitable to North facing, 5-6 frosts per year, all day sun apart from late afternoon! Any help very very much appreciated as we would love to make our creeper dreams come true! Id love to avoid the pot scenario as I dont think they would look as nice aestheticly Renee and Jamie
Maple Trees What type of plants if any can grow under maple trees? Everything I planted under the tree either has stunted growth or just kind of dies off.
Melealeuca Revolution Green My friend told me that Melaleuca Revolution Green makes a good hedge, but i had also heard elsewhere that Melaleucas, and in fact most natives, go rather woody over time and therefore won't stay thick and lush. what's your advice on this please as I really like the look of the foliage.
Mint types Whats the best type of mint to grow for cooking - there seem to be so many.
Moving an established Camellia japonica I would like to know 1) if it possible to move an established camellia as it was originally planted in the wrong spot and has grown to block a window 2) when the best time is in Victoria to attempt the task
Moving Gladioli My glads are not doing too well, I don't think they get enough sunshine so I want to move them. When is the best time to do that?
Mulberry - failure I live in Warragul (Vic) and we have a mature Mulberry tree (40+ years) that fruits prodigiously, but the fruits never ripen before dropping to the ground. The tree is about 5m high, seems healthy despite masses of lichen on its branches (see photos). It gets plenty of sunshine and there's never any shortage of rain down here. Any ideas as to why the fruits don't ripen?
Murraya I have a murraya hedge which I planted from 50cm plants about 6 months ago. I built up a garden with premium soil and have fed and watered. On the whole the 60 plants have done well. But we have a small section where they don't grow as well as the rest, and even 1 plant which looks to have just died. It went yellow and started dropping all its leaves, the plants either side are completely healthy. I was planning to take cuttings off the healthy plants to try and propagate some back ups but I can't work out what is affecting them. It seems strange to be just 1 plant affected if it is water damage. Any ideas?
Murraya hedge We have been battling for a while with a Murraya hedge that is about 60m long . Plants in a particular area keep dying and we would appreciate some advice as to what the cause may be
Murraya Hedges- Transported and Not Looking good I dug up some Murraya Hedges from a neighbour and planted them in our front garden to create a new hedge. I have been watering them and fertilising them but all the leaves have turned brown and are falling off. I also trimmed it all back, They have been replanted for about 6 weeks now. Is this normal? Or does it sound like they have died? If normal - how long do they normally take to thrive again?
Murraya Pale Leaves I've got a Murraya Paniculata which has been oh so healthy up to now, lovely glossy deep green leaves. Well recently its gone all pale and the new growth is coming through almost creamy coloured - if I didn't know any better I'd say it was a variegata with a bit of albino in it. Can anyone help because I'd hate it to go too far and die - it still looks reasonably lively.
Mushrooms in my Lawn How can we stop mushrooms growing in our lawn?
My established wisteria is not flowering? Mt established Wisteria is not flowering like it normally does. it only has one or two off shoots that have flowered. i did not prune it during last summer or winter. it is on the Mornington Peninsula, Victoria. concerned it may be dead/dying. is it too late to prune? should i feed it?
My Palm isn’t as happy Hi. I was hoping someone could give me some advice. I’ve had this Palm all year and it’s been happy and healthy. I water it once a week in winter and summer more based on speed of drying. It gets good light here by this window and has been in this larger pot for about 4 months now. Does any one know why two fronds are dying off? One frond which is dying needs to survive to support the new one coming up. Please help. ??
Myoporum parvifolium Does anyone know how long it takes for myoporum parvifolium yarenna to establish and start to spread? I planted it back in March and whilst it looks healthy, it has barely spread. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Nasturtiums I have found Nasturtiums (Tropaeolum majus) to be very good to eat as well as look at. We often add the leaves and flowers to our salads. They are a bit peppery but very crisp and tasty. I'm told they are full of vitamin C and can also be a good relief for colds.
Native trees in a small yard Hi Gardeners, I want to plant some small/medium Australian native trees in my small garden in Melbourne. The strip of garden bed is on the northern side of a tall fence (shaded until they outgrow the fence) and sits about 3 meters from our house which is on a slab. Does anyone have suggestions for native trees that are great for wildlife, can handle the shade, and won't cause my nearby house any problems with wandering roots? Thanks!
Natural pesticide Does any one know how to make a natural pesticide for a veggie patch? all veggies covered in grubs, bugs and anything else that can crawl!!
Nectarine tree dropping fruit I have a Nectarine tree on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland that has lots of fruit but recently dropped approximately 50% of the fruit before it ripened. Is the climate here no good for Nectarines. It is supposed to be a variety suited to this climate.
Nettles I am having terrible trouble with nettles under some fruit trees. No matter how much I weed them up, mow them, spray them they just keep coming back! Is there a sure fire way to get rid of them or am I stuck with them for life! My husband says that nettles are a sign of good soil but I always thought they were a sign of poor soil - who is right?
New message please advise how to grow new shoots from the Durante Sheena Rippen Gold trunk . ? I have tried crafting but it has not worked much appreciated .
Newbie Balcony Grower Hi, I have never grown anything in my life, but now have a rather large (roughly 6m x 4m) balcony/patio area and woud like to try my hand at a few easier veges. North facing, in Canberra - I might need to protect with shade in mid-summer. One issue I am finding is that balcony pots and elevated beds tend to be quite small - some interlocking small ones are around but expensive. Does anyone have any receommendations for larger lighteweight beds suitable to tiled surfaces, and easy to grow vegetables? I know I am a bit late in the spring for a lot of planting, but that's fine. if nothing much grows this year, no great loss - I wouldn't expect to get things right first go anyway.
Newer fronds with small holes All the new fronds that have grown so far have small holes in them, a variation of small white/yellow holes, and holes with brown edges towards the crown. Initially the first one that showed any abnormalities just had small translucent yellow spots and some small brown spots. But since then the newer leaves had small holes in them instead. Now theres four affected fronds. I suspect it's because I was overwatering the plant. Is there anything that I can do? Is it better to have removed the affected fronds in the earlier stage?
No Bending Weeder Does anyone know of a tool for weeding for those who cannot bend down - e.g. you can do it standing up?? I'd heard about the 'Grandpa's Weeder' but it seems that it isn't available anymore.
Older leaves with mottled yellowing on a meyer lemon Hi there I planted a meyer lemon around 6 months ago and the older, lower leaves are producing mottled yellowing/also some leaves with the V-shape yellowing. This yellowing is slowly rising higher towards the younger leaves. The tree is producing fruit which is starting to ripen, and also flowering at the moment. So far I've added epsom salts a couple of times to the soil and watered that in, with no improvement. I then did a foliar spray of trace elements, but have not repeated this as the label advice is to not apply while flowering. Image attached. Any advice appreciated!
One handed hedge clippers I am trying to find some electric/batterypowered hedge clippers to operate with one hand. I am a right arm amputee and a very keen gardener, trouble is I can't prune for very long with normal clippers as it strains my hand and arm. I think Black & Decker once had one, has anyone got any ideas ?
Orange Bells - what plant is this? Anyone who knows what this is ? Very pretty but I've no idea what its called. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks in advance
Orange Tree Die-Back I have two Orange Trees that I planted 1 year ago. They have died off at the tips of the branches, and all the leaves fell off. The centre of the trees are full of blossoms, and new leaves are forming in the centre of the trees. Can you suggest what could be wrong?
Orange Trumpet Vine ?? I've seen a lot of Orange Trumpet shaped flowers on climbers, especially around the Central Coast region. Someone told me they were called Tecomaria capensis and someone else suggested they might be Pyrostegia venusta - they both seem to have common names like 'Orange Trumpet Vine.
Orchid Cactii Supplier? Would appreciate information where I can purchase cuttings or rooted plants of both the Orchid Cacti and Zygocacti. (Schlumbergera). Thanking you - Peter.
Orchid Planting Query Could someone please tell me why you don't plant orchids in the ground? I have never seen this done.
Ornamental Pear - Cleveland Select Hi, I have just planted 10 Ornamental Pear - Cleveland Select trees down a long driveway. The trees where a glossy green before I planted them and have since turned a red/gold colour since planting. I am aware these trees turn this colour in the later months of autumn, but have seen others of the same species in the same area which are still glossy green. Just wondering if I should be worried.
Paeonies - feeding Hi, I have three peonies ( herbaceous, not tree ) which I purchased in Autumn as bare root peonies and have planted in large pots. I’ve used premium lotto g mix, mixed with perlite, and a few handfuls of dolomite lime in each pot. They are starting to grow, and the tallest is now around 15-20cm and starting to leaf up. They are getting around 6hrs full Sun. Should I be feeding them nice they are putting on more leaves, or is the potting mix/dolomite combo enough to keep them going through the Spring ? Im getting mixed messages online….some say they are hungry plants and I should definitely be giving them an extra boost like Rose food ( I have Yates Thrive Roses and Flowers pellets ) soon. I would definitely like to see them blooming this year, if possible, and would gladly feed them extra if I thought this would encourage them to flower. Some places suggest they shouldn’t be allowed to flower in their first year, and to remove the buds if they do.Can someone give some advice as to what the ideal feeding schedule would be for these pennies to induce flowering and if this is ok to do ? Thankyou
Palm tree with peeling bark on one side Hi, I have a long-established palm tree in my garden in Mount hawthorn, WA. I believe it's an Alexander Palm. It's lost the bark on one side (west-facing), and it's been like that for years. It doesn't appear to have any other significant issues, other than the branches/leaves have always looked a bit sorry. A gardener came round many years ago and though it might be frizzled top, and require nutrients, but that was before I noticed the lost bark on the one side, so I don't know if that diagnosis would explain it. I've been topping it up with trace elements every year since. Anyone have any ideas on what might be causing the bark to strip and not grow back?
Paper Bark Tree We have a very large paper bark tree , can this be cut back.
Passion fruit vine not healthy Hi, a lot of my passion fruits are falling off the vine still green and the ones that are ripe seem to have cracks/lines in them. Any advice for what is wrong with my vine? Thanks
Passionfruit in winter My Nellie Kelly Passionfruit is growing really well. We have just had it's first summer on successful fruiting and now we are in the depths of winter in Melbourne and it is still fruiting. I mean to say it has plenty of set fruit on it, as well as flowers and smaller developing fruit. My question is do I just cut this back? It isn't going to ripen before I need to cut it back at the start of spring is it? Advice please :)
Passionfruit pruning When should I prune my passionfruit vine and how much can I take off?
Pawpaw dropping fruit I have a young red pawpaw tree (just over 9 months old) which is bisexual. It has heaps of fruit but they get to the size of a hens egg and drop. I nearly cry when I see another one bite the dust! There are no sign of bugs on them. All help would be greatly appreciated.
Pear Tree Fruit Loss We have recently moved to Canberra. In our backyard we have a pear tree, which at the time of moving in (late Feb) was absolutely loaded with fruit. In early March all the fruit fell off for no apparent reason, the fruit was far from being ripe but was well formed and good colour. Not having much knowledge about fruit trees, could someone offer up some advise on rejuvenating this tree, I would say it has been neglected for sometime. Many Thanks Mark
Pencil Pines Hi, I have a couple of pencil pines in my front yard, both would be 15M in height, they have started to turn brown in colour, any ideas on the problem and how to remedy? Many thanks in advance.....Paul
Persimilis or Red Spider Mite?? Hello! I recently started my first garden bed and everything has been growing beautifully! I live in NSW Australia and it is currently Spring here. I have been noticing insect life in the garden. Ants, little flies, worms and garden spiders. All was fine until I spotted hundreds of microscopic orange-ish spider looking things crawling all over my soil and mulch. I took a further look with the zoom on my phone camera and found that the bigger ones are orange and the almost unseeable ones are clear. I did a lot of reading on mites yesterday and it seems that the most common pest mite is the Two Spotted Mite (Red Spider Mite). My little friends don't have two spots on the back however, I read they can turn red-orange during cooler weather and seeing as we are just coming out of winter, I'm concerned that this might be the case. I have also been noticing small-ish webs on the soil. I'll add photos below. My plants seem to be doing fine. One of my green bean leaves was eaten but it has slime all over it so I'm guessing a snail made his way through. This has me confused and worried because I can't tell if they are Predatory Mites (Persimilis), Pest Mites, or maybe even just baby spiders from my Garden Spiders!! I have already become emotionally attached to my veggies and I would be devastated if they got eaten up by some tiny pests! I also found a few of these small caterpillar- larva looking things if you can identify. Hopefully not a problem. Please help to identify and if they are pests, any advice on how to organically deal with them would be much appreciated.
Pest eating passion fruit vine Hi, I am on my second attempt at growing passion fruit plants in Vines in Victoria. Something is eating the leaves. I can’t see anything on the plants though. I have been trying white oil and chilli garlic spray but can’t seem to stop them being eaten. I am in the Geelong area. Any help would be appreciated
Pests in Tomato Crop I think I have Queensland fruit fly in my tomatoes. What do I do to stop further infestation. To watch my first large crop being spoilt is really depressing.
Pests stripping leaves of trees Hi, this is the second year of something eat the leaves of a plum tree. It moved onto the cherry tree this year and now a couple of exotic trees, a birch and a tree that has elm like leaves. It has virtually stripped the plum and cherry. I noticed tiny transparent lavae underneath the leaves. See photo.
Petunias in Hanging Baskets I want to grow Petunias in some hanging baskets I have but as they are in the shadow of the eaves they do not get a lot of direct sunlight. I understand Petunias need direct sun. This seems to be a problem with hanging baskets as they need something to hang from and that is bound to create shade - am I missing something here?
Pittosporum I have a driveway hedge of James Stirling (approx 20 yrs old) that has deteriorated in the past 6 mths. It was trimmed up in March, other than that we don't touch it. I believe the middle tree is dead and I can see the 2 on the left deteriorating and drying out rapidly. What has happended here? Can I save the trees on the left and prevent this happening to the 2 on the right?
Pittosporum bug problem Trying to identify this beetle. It's killing my Pittosporums Thank you
Plant care Hello We purchased a house earlier this year with beautiful plants lovingly cared for by the previous owners. We have never had a garden so have been remiss in the care of this new one. We have these lovely shrubs which now looks like they're drying out and dying, we have been watering them but they don't look to be recovering. Any tips on how we can save them? Or should we call it and replace them? Thank you!
Plant Identification Please Hi, Apprecaite if somebody can identify the name of the plant in the attached photos? I got it as a gift as an indoor plant. The leaves started falling down and it does't look healthy overall. The photo shows the plant when I first received it about 5 weeks ago now the leaves are dark. Thank you kindly.
Plant Newbie - can this shrub be saved? Hello We purchased a house earlier this year with beautiful plants lovingly cared for by the previous owners. We have never had a garden so have been remiss in the care of this new one. We have these lovely shrubs which now looks like they're drying out and dying, we have been watering them but they don't look to be recovering. Any tips on how we can save them? Or should we call it and replace them? Thank you!
Plant Suggestions Please We have a patio which is covered by 70% shadecloth along the West side of our house. It is about 10 metres long and we would like suggestions of plants which would provide some display all year round. Could be flowering but foliage at least. We have a Dipladenia which is good but some other species are wanted. They would get sun after noon for a few hours and are sheltered from wind. Thanks for any help. John
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