Came here during some research I'm trying to do on this subject because of some potential plans I have on planting one of a few eucalyptus species, and while there's a lot of good information/discourse here on variables concerning affected plants, mulch quality, effect on soil, and other factors that may affect plants such as water and root competition, I'm kind of noticing a pattern here and elsewhere: There's a lot of lumping eucalyptus into one umbrella category...Guys, there's like 700 something species in this genus; they are not all created equal. I think that also may be partially why there seems to be so much debate over the subject, two different people could be very well talking about two different species. I'm not saying everyone has to be a friggin botanist over it, but it really is helpful to know what species any given person is talking about. Maybe then we can start to notice a pattern with one given variety or another. Just my two cents. As an aside, I kind of think climate may have a non negligible part to play. I could definitely see these chemicals hanging around in the soil a lot differently in a more arid environment with lots of organic matter build up versus a wet rainy tropical environment where everything either leaches away or decays as fast as you can blink at it.

From what I know, it causes bits of die back but doesn't take out most trees. Might be whats killing so many madrone trees north of the bay area, though (they really look awful, lots of black spots on some trees and serious dieback on others). Man, Phytophthora is REALLY nasty. The whole genus. Killed the Irish ( phytophthora infestans). Killing the Wollemi Pine (phytophthora cinnamoni. Killing the oaks ( phytophthora ramorum . Little flagellate bastards. Only possible treatments seem to me to be ones that would have to be systemic and self-sustaining...i.e. bacteria or viruses that are engineered/bred to feed on zoospores or something of that nature. The way that a virus is thought to have made the chestnut blight weaker, etc. All the chemical spraying in the world won't do a thing to remedy this problem.

Wow - this thread has really taken off, hasnt it ? Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions. I am reasonably au fait with most of the suggestions for the feature tree, with the exception of the bottle tree, but plants such as Native Gardenia are something of an unknown. I am also very wary of the impact of the Rocky sun on many rainforest species, even those marked 'full sun' : establishing the microclimate which allows these plants to take full sun is probably better left to species such as acacia and melaleuca. Experience has taught me that there are exceptions, and the Penda in my last garden has gone from strength to strength in the furnace that is our afternoon sun - its currently alive with yellow flowers and is bushy right to its bootstraps. I have recommended the various E. Ficifolia / E. Ptychocarpa hybrids (now Corymbias, I believe) to my friend, but the grafted rootstock seems to constrain them to no more than 5-6 metres, and I believe that I need something more in the 12m plus range to shield the front of the house from the blistering afternoon sun. It also needs to be sufficiently dense at the top to make 'worthwhile' shade, without being a menace to people standing beneath it. Ultimately, it will come down to the stock that Fitzroy Nurseries have in May - most of the other nurseries just dont persist with anything larger than 14" pots. I'll let you know how I get on. Cheers, Artie

Hi Emily, I have a Eucalypt Leucoxolon which is about 4 meters tall. It has also had small brown spots on the leaves, which then die and fall off leaving the lower half of the trees branches leafless. On two sections the bark has cracked also and I am wondering if this has anything to do with the spots and die-back. The top half of the tree appears normal and is flowering though not many. My first thought was 'rust', or some type of fungus, though from looking at some sights that indicated that E. rust is not yet in this country, and the pics show the brown spots with a yellow halo - mine did not have the yellow halo, so as to whats affecting mine remains to be identified. Whilst looking up info for you, I found the following sites to be helpful, so hope they may be of some help to you. Australian Plants online http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL5/mar97-4.html Association of Societies for Growing Australian Plants (ASGAP) Kangaroo Paws: Pests and Diseases http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/paws1.html Gardenweb : Australian Native Plants http://www.au.gardenweb.com/forums/oznative/ Electronic Mailbox http://farrer.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/APOL35/sep04-8.html There is also the following article which I found on the above website. Rust on gum leaves I have a 3 metre tall Corymbia "Summer Red" grafted gum that is my pride and joy. It's growing in full sun, clay soil, is staked, and flowered profusely last summer. Now it has begun to get a red rusty rash-like appearance on its leaves. I think I should cut off the lower branches, as they touch the ground, but should I then spray the tree with a fungicide? M H from New South Wales It's almost impossible to diagnose these sorts of things from a distance. The foliage discolouration could result from a range of causes, including fungal (rust) diseases, soil nutrients or lack of water. It could even just be a response to cold weather. You really need to take a sample to a reputable nursery in your area or, better still, a local NSW Agriculture office if there is one near you. If it is a rust, then spraying with a fungicide may help. You can see some photos of a eucalyptus rust in this document - this may help you decide if it is a rust problem. If it's not a fungus then probably there's not a lot you can do at this stage other than making sure it doesn't dry out. If it doesn't recover with new growth once the weather warms up, you should definitely get some local expert advice. Good Luck! ladyecheveria