How old is it? Perhaps its coming up to its use-by date. I have decidious trees which all of a sudden have half a dead branch - then it spreads all over the tree, though they are quite old... 15 - 20 I am guessing.

I have no idea how old it is, it was in our yard when we bought the house 3 years ago. I would guess by it's size that it is at least 10 years old, probably much older.

Ange

I do not think it is that old at 5m. Lillypillies get quite large, there are some beautiful specimens in Maylands/ Bayswater area and I would say some are at least 18m tall. I have two trees and they are about 4m and are 3years grown from seed. However, I have no idea what caused one to drop branches.

Here is one theory.

If the plants are fruiting heavily and the branches have fallen it is an indication of stress, most likely because of the growing conditions. The problem could be lack of water or certain nutrients, or even pH. I would guess that the branches have been weakened by a nutrient or water problem. Thus rain can add that extra bit of weight to the branches that causes them to drop off.
I cannot speak for Lilly-pillies but some natives will jettison the odd branch when they are under stress through lack of supply of stuff like water or nutrients.

Remember deep watering is best.

I just went and looked at the tree again to make sure i had estimated the right height and I think I have underestimated it, it could be more like 8m tall I think.

The shock theory is a good one, although we have recently (as of December) had our bore reticulation automated because we planted new lawn in our back yard. The yard is getting watered regularly (every other evening). Before December our yard was a sandpit for 8 months and before that, over run with weeds and knee high grass for years! Could it be the sudden attention has sent it into shock?

You might have also read my post on the Sir Walter in the back yard starting to yellow, I'm starting to think the 2 problems may be related, as they yellow spots and lillypilly are all in the same general area. I have tested the ph of the soil and it is sitting between 6 1/2 and 7, so pretty much neutral....

What a mystery we have on our hands!

Ange

Ange

Hi Ange,

Has the tree always been watered with bore water? I don't know much about the subject but I would suggest doing a ph test on your water supply. I believe that in the Perth Basin, ground water can be somewhat acidic. I don't know if you live in that area. It could also be very alkaline. Bore water varies considerably.
I have had branches snap off other types of trees and shrubs when there has been a lot of very fine, misty rain. The water seems to hold its surface tension for longer in these conditions, so more builds up on the branch and with the increased weight the branch snaps.

Cheers,
Dee.

Hi Ange,
Do you have bats or possums visit your tree, maybe the extra weight causes the branches to snap, you would think that there would be signs of rot or fungal attack if it was disease related.
Cheers, Kirsten

The rain we had was very fine and misty so that could have certainly contributed... i checked all the branches that came down and none had evidence of rot or infection.

Ange

Hi Ange,
I just noticed this posting again when I was browsing through and wondered how you were going with your trees. Have there been any more branches lost? Did you discover the cause? We all learn a lot from other people's postings.
Cheers,
Dee.

It is just another idea Angelee, but I think it is just a case of the fruit bocoming too heavy. You have mentioned that you recently put in a bore,I believe that this as swollen the fruit,particularly after Perths hot summer. I think you started to water in Dec. when it would already have become hot and dry,all of a sudden there is heaps of water so the plant stores it and pushes the moisture into the fruit. I understand the second tree has not done the same thing but its my guess it is under a lot of pressue but hanging in there.I would suggest you cut the broken branches off cleanly and the tree will bounce back. Lily-pillies are very resilient.
R

R