Reviving an old thread to see if any of the previous posters have won this battle against leaf spot. We live in South/Central Texas. Our backyard has a mix of red tips and pittosporum as privacy hedges that create a stunning 15' tall wall of hedges that provide wonderful privacy and visual appeal. Unfortunately, these hedges have started succumbing to various ailments. The red tips have this dreaded leaf spot. One side of the fence has red tips that were planted only 2 years ago. The rest of the plants have probably been planted 15+ years. I did some drastic pruning on the young ones and spent a weekend cutting every single spotted leaf off. They are only 6' talk and we're manageable. The older red tips are just too big to deal with in a similar fashion. I've been spraying Daconil every 7 days or so. Just Wondering if I'm fighting a losing battle? I don't plan on replacing these hedges with anymore red tips or pittosporum (they are having a different issue and I have lost two - not sure if it is root rot, some other fungus, or just their natural life cycle). The pittosporum can't be sprayed with Daconil, I use Agri-fos on them. Oh, and most of my neighbors have these red tips as well, and they all have the disease. We had a wet fall and winter and I suspect the fungus is loving south Texas now So any success stories? Lastly, if I have to replace these, what is a good alternative? We're zone 9. Backyard is a mix of shaded and part-sun, but is becoming mostly shaded as our live oaks grow more. I would like a drought tolerant (although I have drip irrigation and can water them well during the hot summers) replacement that is hardy and disease resistant. Native would be great. I just need them to be able to grow to and be maintained at about 15' tall and have the ability to be trimmed into hedges. Thanks in advance!

Looks like it had plenty of room to me. And if it's their only one - and there had been a crowding issue - they should have first looked to see if there was something not unique to their collections that could have been gotten out of the way of the photinia. I'm also thinking if they had time for things like this maybe they should have instead looked into finding out why the pieris(?) to the right of the photinia (in the preceding shot) is nearly bare, as though it has root rot. Of course, if they have knucklehead stuff like the cutting down of the photinia going on in that part of the collection somebody might also have "lion-tailed" (pruned to have mostly bare branches with little puffs of foliage on the ends) the pieris-like shrub as well. Even public gardens with large budgets and hiring-by-committee are not entirely free of a component of employees who undertake ignorant ruinous pruning operations that spoil significant specimens, commit other unfortunate acts which make them appear as though they have had no serious training in the subject area at all. Now the photinia will have no function as an example of what size and shape might be expected from a planting of this selection during a specific time frame. After it grows back up to hide the pruning if anyone ever looks up the date of the original planting and then looks at whatever size it has at that time they will be given a false impression of its growth potential.

Poor mature leaf color visible in photo indicates a serious need for fertilization. Nutrient deficiency can also cause premature leaf drop, as can certain leaf diseases - such as the leaf spot disease(s) that is making Fraser photinia plantings all transparent up my way (some spotting - of whatever specific nature - is visible in your picture also). Otherwise - although it doesn't necessarily pertain in this instance (partial view provided does not really make it possible to tell) - shrubs planted close together and clipped into a hedge need to have the upper half kept narrower than the bottom or the bottom becomes shaded too much. But, again, going by the one photo anyway it looks to me like the basic problem here is poor leaf retention. As for where, exactly on a given branch to cut for a particular purpose that is not easily explained on a venue such as this one. If you have enough difficulty with this point you might do best with a garden coach or consultant who can review the matter with you in person.

Here are some photos of leaves from a Photinia hedge that is in poor health. Ignore the white spots on the tops of the leaves. That is actually dust from all the fires in California. On the back of the leaves, I see what I think are Thrip eggs. On top of the leaves, the dark discoloration looks more like some kind of infection. How should I be treating these issues?