Eugenia Topiary

22 years ago

Hi I just recently acquired a eugenia topiary...I am un sure of how to care for my new acquisiton. It is a double ball and the bottom ball seems to be much more sparse than the top-how can I get it to fill out? How do I trim it, i.e. pinching the leaves or pruning? How much water should it have and I noticed that when i lift up the moss that covers the soil little tiny bugs that look like fruit flies fly up...should i be concerned about this?

Thanks so much for your help!

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auntBren

21 years ago

hi katie, since it doesn't look like you've gotten a follow-up yet, i'll try to answer as much as i can.(although I've never seen a eugenia (can't find it in any of my books,) but the small flies could be fungus gnats (their larve feed on the plants roots), don't quote me on this. could be the soil is staying too wet for too long a time. try letting it dry out some before watering it again thouroughly. but since I don't know much about eugenia, I wouldn't let it get to the point of wilting. You could even try taking the moss cover off for a while. if you want the moss to stay green, keep it moist and in a cool place out of direct sun.(moss usually grows best with northern exposure). I don't usually put moss on top of soil unless it's a clay pot, although it looks great, it seems to smother the plant and cause other problems. if that doesn't seem to work fast enough you could try drenching the soil with a fungicide. (NOT THE MOSS). ask a knowledgeble clerk at your local garden center about the care of eugenia and those problems, or ask to see the manager if that person doesn't seem to know. since I'm not familar with the plant in question, i won't reccomend any particular product. just be sure to read the entire label and follow the diretions. good luck. as to thickening up the bottom ball, (and keeping the top one looking good too) you could trim it up some, keeping it in a ball shape, or pinch the growing tips (new growth) between two leaves. Be brave, sometimes a little ruthless. it'll grow back somewhere else, (if it's still green) and keep any growth off the stem (trunk) in-between the two balls. By the way, hope it's doing better by now? i'll check back soon. bren P.S. ask about fertilizing it too.

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Comments (16)

gardengrey
21 years ago
I also have a Eugenia Topiary that is doing well. It is outside in a container (zone 6) and I'll bring it inside for the winter. The optimum temperature for Eugenia is about 70-80 degrees. It seems to enjoy medium to bright light but no direct sun. I believe that the Eugenia is in the same family as myrtle, but am not positive. I'll try to look bit farther for you. I do know thatEugenia resists change, so give it as even an existence as possible
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I am an entomologist in Boca Raton, FL. Although I really work with ants, I have seen Eugenia with these insects all over Broward and Palm Beach counties, and ants feed on the honeydew produced by these scale insects. The Eugenia plants look like they were hit by a flame-thrower. As I said, the scales produce honeydew which they excrete and then sooty mold (black) grows on the honeydew. I asked my friend who works with scale insects about this. He says that this is the work of the Florida Wax Scale, Ceroplastes (he does not know which species). The family is Coccidae. I can email photos if anyone wants to see them. Maybe I will post them on my website. Many people have asked me what they should do about this. I have seen Eugenia dying all over and, really, if you want to spend time fighting this, you will probably have to keep spraying the plants with a systemic insecticide like Merit continually, and even then, it might be an uphill battle all the way. Usually in a case like this with a well-established insect pest, the best thing to do is to plant resistant varieties, or some other ornamental plant. I don't know if there is a Eugenia variety that is resistant to this wax scale, maybe someone on this forum knows. John Warner, PhD qualified entomologist University of Florida Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, Ant Lab 3205 College Avenue Fort Lauderdale, FL 33314 USA
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I've never owned a eugenia but I've seen them around. Instinctively, I would trim off the dead and dried branches. Take care to see if there are leaf nodes that are viable. When revived, these would start to sprout and produce stems. It may take a long for a regrowth, so be patient. When new stems develop let it grow out a bit and simply nip off the tips to force it to branch out. Keep nipping over time until you get to shape it to a ball. This may take a long time to do so please keep that in mind. If there's not regrowth at all and the branches are all dead, trim them all out. You can get the lower and top ball to grow wider to minimize the gap in between so it starts to look good once again. Hope that's a start. I have a bay tree which I'd began to shape into 2 lollipops when it was a mere 1 foot plant. At this time, you would not be able to discern the balls because the stem growth is slow, but it's getting there. It's now reached 5 feet and I've just nipped off it's top to force out side branches. It doesn't look impressive but in 2 years it would look great.
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dot29
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I have acquired a 10" Eugenia Topiary it is currently planted in my front yard garden....my concern is that winter is rapidly approaching.....where I live the temperature can easily reach -30 degress celcius....what do I do to protect my tree from the winter weather...any help or advise will be very much appreciated
lijjys
16 years ago
I have a pair of Eugenia double-ball topiaries flanking my front door. It is a location that does not get much direct sun, if any. I now realize that one side of the door tends to get more light than the other and those plants (I also have lamium planted in the containers with the Eugenia) are doing much better than the side that does not get as much light.

Although I've read that the Eugenia will tolerate low light, the side getting more light is growing nicely, getting larger, etc., and the other has not changed much. It's frustrating, because I'd like a symmetric look around the door. My latest concern is with the dropping of leaves... the side that is not getting as much light has begun to drop its leaves. Is this most always a cause of not enough water or could it be caused by too much? The lower ball is really looking skimpy now that the leaves are dropping and I'm afraid I'll never get it to catch up. Any ideas? Fertilizer?
AACANOSA_NETSCAPE_COM
16 years ago
I brought my Eugenia in for the winter. I am storing it in my garage. Does this plant go dormant for the winter. I have been watering on a monthly basis since I took it in the garage. The leaves are brown at this time. I live in CT and the winters are below freezing. Thanks for you help.
Regards, Al Canosa
bfrey
15 years ago
Hi
I have two eugenia topiaries and on the top ball of one of the plants to leaves turned all brown and fell off - the rest of the plant looks great - will this area fill in again? please help as I love these plants
Barb
scweedeater
15 years ago
Barb,

Did the top ball ever fill back in for you? I have the same problem. Two topiaries flanking my entrance and the top ball of one is brown, but the rest of it is still lush. I've watered them the same, so I guess one has received more sun and dried out.

Tina
schoolhouse_gw
15 years ago
Tina, have you tried trimming away all the brown bits of the one that appears dead? It may take awhile, but it could grow back in.
mmayerct
15 years ago
I have two 5 foot Eugenia topiaries. One received more sun then the other and definitely grew bigger. They required TONS of water. Besides that, they did great here in CT during the summer. I have now moved them indoors to a situation with much less light. They both have begun to drop green leaves. Could be adjusting to indoors, too much water or too little water...not sure. Has anyone had success moving these plants indoors for the winter?
PATJUNEGRIFF_AOL_COM
12 years ago
i HAVE LITTLE WHITE FUZZY BALLS ON BOTH eUGENIAS. wHAT ARE THESE? aRE THEY HARMFUL/
smiles4evr27_yahoo_com
12 years ago
Attn: June Patton
The little white fuzzy balls are not harmful. They are small white flowers which are followed by edible rose-purple fruit.
smiles4evr27_yahoo_com
12 years ago
Attn: June Patton
The little white fuzzy balls are not harmful. They are small white flowers which are followed by edible rose-purple fruit.
Freebird11
12 years ago
This highly ornamental plant is very suitable for formal gardens and flanking entrance ways. Sometimes called "Australian Brush-Cherry," it is a vigorous evergreen, compact shrub with vivid red leaves when young, later changing to shining green. Fluffy white flowers followed by red berries
elisecw
7 years ago
Any success with bringing these topiaries indoors for the winter here in MI? I know this is an old post but I'd like to start bringing them in and know there's probably a process I should try to follow. Any tips would be appreciated!
Xtal in Central TX, zone 8b
7 years ago
elisecw,

I can't give you any thoughts as to how to prepare this to bring it through the winter. I just wanted to applaud your efforts. This appears not to be a very active forum. Pity. I have a dog that I plan to grow as soon as I can get some measurements and plants.

There must be some reason that you are questioning bringing then inside. In Michigan, I don't think I'd hesitate to do that. I don't think it's too heavy that you can't get some muscle to help with this job. Good luck.

It sounds like you have more than just this one. Here's hoping that you have a lot of success.
HU-735056731
4 years ago
I have a tree that some of the limbs are Dead should it I break off the dead limbs If I break the limbs off it will look real bad . So if I break the dead limbs off will news grow back in .

Eugenia Topiary

auntBren

Comments (16)

gardengrey

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