Hi Scott,

I used Confidor, but I'm sure that there are homegrown remedies out there. Don Burke recommends simply avoiding those varieties which are prone to psyllid attack - he cites Syzygium paniculatum cultivars as being the most prone, but I have also seen claims that Syzygium Australe variants (of which there are about 10,000, by my count :)) also suffer from periodic attack, and I believe that your Elegance are from this line. I havent had much luck with my Elegance plantings - no pests, but the Rocky sun has absolutely hammered them. Perhaps keeping them in pots, where I can move them around, is the way to go.

Good luck,

Artie

Thanks Artie,
I will try Confidor when the plants end flowering, unless I hear some other suggestions,
cheers
Scott

Rogor can also be used but it is abit of a nasty chemical for your health,i would also recommend Confidor.All S.australe cultivars are likely to be attacked by psyllids.

I have tried confidor on mine recently, it is probably too early to see results yet.

Keep you posted.

Thanks Sir Joh
I will be interested to see what happens with your plants
cheers
scott

secateurs

(I really hate psyllids and have to remove all affected leaves)

I have found white oil to be effective in the past, although it can be difficult to reach all the affected parts. Frankly I've given up on the susceptible varieties, except for my beloved S. moorei of course.
Cheers
David

Scott,

A local nursery advised me to use Confidor in the short term, and a systemic granular chemical (placed in the earth under the tree) for long term control. I did that but only used the granules once and only on my S. moorei. They apparently take a few months to kick in as the plant takes them up. I haven't used them again, mainly because when I read the details, they seemed to be extremely poisonous and bad for the environment; but also because they are expensive; and the psillids came back later anyway.

I have also used pyrethrum to kill the psillids on my S. moorei (when it was 1.5m high; it's now 3m high). I took out another lilly pilly tree because it was totally infested with the things, as was a "Bush Christmas" so it got the chop. The S. moorei has been less affected since (proximity to the other tree I believe being the reason). The only other lilly pillies I have are S. wilsonii and Acmena smithii in a couple of forms, which are unaffected.

The S. moorei has escaped totally so far this season, but I'm keeping a watch for the psillids, and I'll go back to using the pyrethrum even if I do have to use a ladder.

Another recommendation was to remove all affected foliage and put it in the bin. I've done that too.

Cheers,
Frank

Scott, I have had problems with my Syz. Elite and both Rogor and Confidor have killed the psyllids. Unfortunately Rogor tends to kill everything else as well so I think Confidor is the go. They claim confidor will also provide protection for up to 6 weeks. Interesting that I have a large number of Aussie compacts ( another form of Australe) , and not one has had a psyllid even though they are in close proximity to the Elites.
The problem I have found is that once trees become a good size it becomes that much harder to spray , so sometimes it can be better to replace, ( should the problem become untreatable), with varieties that are more resistant.

Good luck Don

Frank,
Your local nursery should have advised that Confidor itself is a systemic treatment and should remain in the vascular system of the plant for some weeks.
For a trouble free lilly pilly ,i reckon "Cascade" is hard to beat.

Couldnt agree more, Richard - Syz. Cascade is a fantastic cultivar. I've also had good results thus far with Aussie Southern, Northern Lights and Syz Oleosum, to name but a few. Any rainforest plant that can stand up to the afternoon sun in Rocky is one tough specimen. My Acmena's havent been so fortunate, but they are hanging in there. Its all been a steep learning curve, so I have to accept a few casualties along the way. 'Full Sun' on a label doesnt necessarily mean 'full Queensland sun' :)

Hello Richard and Artie,

Could you post a photo of your S. "Cascade" so I can see what they really look like in the garden?

Artie, I've also heard that S. oleosum is more resistant to the psyllids. Is it completely free of them or what proportion of the plant would be affected?

Thanks,
Frank

Frank,i dont have a digital camera unfortunately,so it takes me ages to finish a film,so it may some time before i can post one .My Cascades are young, they were planted from 200mm pots about4 months ago,and now stand about 700mm high.I am very impressed with their quick growth and they are in absolute full sun.

Hello Scott
An update, my lillpilly is on the mend after a spray of confidour a few weeks ago. I still have the sheens Gold? around the edge as a skirt. A bit hard to remove them as I have a pair of large pots at the front door that look pretty special.

Frank,

When my neighbour finally removes the hideous grass on the other side of my fence, I'll be able to post a decent photo of my Cascades. Like Richard's plants, mine are still under a metre but growing very fast.

As for Oleosum, I've seen the 'psyllid-free' tag on many pages, but I have to wonder how many people simply repeat what they have read elsewhere. I have only one or two Oleosum, and my only psyllid problem has been with my Waterhousea Floribunda. I suspect that psyllids dont like my front garden (where the majority of my LP live) : they seem to have gone in search of easier prey.

Thanks Sir Joh
I will try confidor on mine, I will try the worst affected as a test then do the rest if results are good
cheers
scott

I have 150 feet of Sysygium australe hedge, I believe (maybe paniculatum). Most of it is about 3' high, about 50 feet of it over 8' high. I'm in Southern California at the beach. The entire hedge is horribly infested with psyllid. Nothing seems to work. Sprays available at our local home center stores with psyllids listed, work marginally, but the bugs are always back within three weeks or so. The leaves are all crested and distorted, the white sticky residue is every where and attracts black road dirt so the leaves are not only distorted but also filthy.
Anybody know of a good killer, available locally that won't cost me a fortune, or am I just going to have to remove all 75 plants I've spent five years training and nurturing into an otherwise beautiful hedge????

Thanks for any ideas.

Tim

HI, I too have Szygium elites in six pots and found an infestation of psyllids a month ago across all of them. Have intensively pruned back, sprayed with Confidor, fertilised and re-mulched. The problem is the tiny leaves that are coming back are consistently showing comprehensive infestation. Is this common? How long will it take for the leaves to grow back normally, or is this a case of constantly spraying Confidor and White oil?

Zeb

Zeb, the best treatment for psyllids that I know of are small birds such as Pardalotes & Thornbills which hungrily predate them. To get these onto your psyllids you, your neighbours & your local council will need to ensure enough natural habitat is formed from planting species indigenous to your area. The natural habitat will then attract these small birds. So patience is needed, too, for the natural habitat to mature enough to attract the birds. It takes a few moments to knock the natural habitat down but quite a while for it to be restored so best get started now.