agonis flexuosa after dark (?)

20 years ago

Has anybody any experience with this tree. I know it is a hybrid of the green WA peppermit tree which did exceptionally well on our block, too well in fact so it had to be removed. The after dark hybrid was said to be much smaller and on top has this stunning purple leaf colour. I planted 3, one died after the first summer, the 2 left are struggling. I trimmed one to the ground after I noticed new shoots comming from the base, the other one is about 1m tall but lost all the leaves, I also trimmed it and it is showing some regrowth. What is their problem, how can I help??? They should be beautiful weeping trees by now :-(((.

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Comments (4)

conifer_nut
20 years ago
Hi Meggs.At considerable expence I bought about 25 of these about 4 years ago and they are a very beautiful shrub/small tree.
HOWEVER,according to the label they would tolerate some frost but no,I lost ALL of mine as soon as we had our first 1 degree night in early winter after them being in the ground and growing happy for 9 months.All leaves were gone.Some did reshoot but again after near 0 degrees these survivers died.
I'm pretty sure Agonis is a coastal native and just will not tolerate any frost whatsoever inland.
They were everywhere in nurseries when I bought mine and now you don't see any so I guess the nurseries and buyers have also found them to be non frost tolerant.
If you are in a coastal area with no frost persevere with them as they are worth it.Inland with frost just forget it and try something else.

Regards,

C.N.
meggs
Original Author
20 years ago
Thanks Terry, it is nice to get a responce :-). No, we hardly ever get frost, it gets to about 4 deg, my trees lost their leaves when it was HOT and very windy/dry, so this might be their problem, I would just love them to recover. I have ordered some sheep poo, if I spread it as mulch it might help?

I liked confires too but we have this nasty fungus that kills conifers in Perth so I have only two left, one is golden arisona cypres which would look great with my purple after dark if they looked good :-(.
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aeor
20 years ago
Hi Meggs
My limited experience with this tree tells me perhaps your problem is with water. I find they need more than I was giving my other plants. Having said that, it was in a very dry spot (as are most of my plants) and I do get cold weather. But I think you could be on to something with the water needs.
I'm going to transfer mine to the compost bin. (have realised it just doesnt' belong in my garden). Good luck with yours!
kimmiea
16 years ago
We have had a lot of success using the excrement from our composter with flowering trees and shrubs. We do not compost meat, though, as the waste becomes detrimental to the growth of the plants. If you have a "vegetarian" composting habit, it seems that it is really, really helpful. Hope that helps you!

agonis flexuosa after dark (?)

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conifer_nut

meggs
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agonis flexuosa after dark (?)

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conifer_nut

meggsOriginal Author

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meggs
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