Have had my LPs for nearly 5 years since the landscaping was done. All has been fine up until the last 4 months or so. Twigs / small branches have started to die - twig death happens quite quickly (2/3 days) and nothing is eating them that I can detect. Most of the 20 plants are affected but not all of them - one adjacent to one of the worst affected ones if absolutely fine for now. Have tried Eco Oil, White Oil, Pyrethrum as well as Mancozeb. The way things are going I will lose the battle. All other shrubs and trees in the garden are healthy and unaffected. I am guessing it is fungal. The death never happens at the bottom of the plant - always from the middle up and generally at the crown of the tree. Red box in the photo shows what it looks like after day or 3 - give it 2 more days and the twig will be dead and the leaves dry. We live in Marrickville Sydney. Any help at all is hugely appreciated.
Hi Simon
It sounds like something is sucking the stems dry. You say that nothing is eating leaves and I am assuming the leaves are not disfigured. Can you seen signs of scale particularly wax scales either pink or white on the stems or along the veins of the leaves. Mealy bug can also be a major problem, the bugs tends to live in sheltered parts of the plants so can be missed. Can you see any signs of fungal disease? Any signs of ants or powdery mildew?