I’m on the mornington peninsula in Victoria and have killed every frangipani I’ve had. This time I’m determined. The frost has started so I’ve bought a little cheap greenhouse from Bunnings and put it in that but also put it on our sunniest wall next to our hot water heater to hopefully create some humidity. Luckily also, this position happens to be in front of our toilet window so I can still keep a really good eye on it! It seems to be working so far and it’s dropped to 2 degrees some mornings. I also just read on another page to surround it with rocks. The rocks, when hit with the sun retain the heat and keep it a bit warmer. So I’ll be doing that today!! It’s leaves are going a little bit yellow, does that mean it needs a fertiliser? I’ve lost maybe 4 so far but still seem to be getting the little new growth in the middle, I figure they are good signs?

Leah, I think frangis are pretty hardy and it is too early for them to loose leaves just yet, mine are still flowering. You can prune at any time, warm weather is better as it does not set them back that much, also taking cuttings is better in summer despite many recommendations to do it in winter. I trimmed my daughter's frangi and as it was flowering put it in wet sand in a nice vase in the house. It was about 2-3 months ago. Once the flowers droped, followed by old flowers it reshot and now has new fresh leaves. I never watered it. I would not bother with transplanting your tree if it is big. Just cut the biggest branch, let it dry for a week or two and replant it where you want it, you do not have to water it in winter, nature will do it for you. By the way don't you think we had lovely rain over the last two days :-).

My experience with Hymenosporum flavum is from a California perspective, and they grow well here, but do seem to prefer sandy loam soils over heavy clay soils for best year round appearance. Did the leaf drop start to occur after either a prolonged dry period or a cold snap? These two things can cause them to drop foliage here, as well as the roots staying too wet. In fact, this tree can often struggle when planted in pure clay, although as they get larger they seem more tolerant. They also tend to drop leaves with the onset of colder weather, and push rapid new growth when it warms up again. If you know you don't have a drainage problem, I'd suggest you wait to see if it pushes new growth once the height of winter is past, although if you are located in Sydney right on the water, your winter couldn't be all that cold to cause leaf drop. Maybe try an organic or slow release fertilizer to see if that helps... There is also a noticeable difference in vigor of plants within a block of seed grown trees at nurseries here, and I always look for the healthiest specimens over the larger ones when selecting this tree for gardens. It often seems that straggly plants never amount to much here, even after they have settled in. I love using this tree, as it can bloom multiple times from spring into fall, never gets too densely shading, fills the bill when something tall and narrow and evergreen is wanted, and the fragrance is heavenly. Surprising to find that a subtropical rainforest species from Queensland does so well in a summer dry Mediterranean climate, and is even quite frost hardy, easily tolerating down to 22F freezes here, with no permanent damage except complete defoliation.

A few years ago I sent some unrooted plants/cuttings to Canada without any problems. Had to be declared on the packaging. Don't know if the situation has changed.