My mother in law had one which had grown up through her arbor by about two feet. After her death I pruned the bottle brush way down to replace the damage to the arbor. The plant became fuller and much better behaved. We have one here that was planted about 30 years before the killing frost of 1990 that killed it to the ground. It took two years to reappear but quickly grew back to its former size. I have not noticed anything delicate about Callistemon. Al

Any idea which Callistemon you have? Maybe drought could be the problem if it's a native of a very wet part of Australia, though they are usually very drought hardy even then. Sometimes a lot of rain after drought causes a problem. What about the neighbours? Have you looked around the area to see if there are other callistemons of the same kind, and how they're doing? The idea that pruning has harmed it don't sound likely. I wouldn't expect a problem from pruning a healthy tree unless it was pruned back very hard, and then it would be more likely to have died in quite a short time, rather than fade away over three years. Has there been root disturbance? Building done in the vicinity? Change in the mulching regime? (Not everything loves mulch.) Have you fertilised? If so it could have caused problems. Trish

Hi funnelweb, appreciate your reply but Phytophthora is a serious issue in the bush and we have to be careful. On the issue of "is it or is it not" a fungus - and this is a sidetrack to the real issue - Phytophthora is a member of the Kingdom Chromalveolata where as a fungus is a member of the Kingdom Fungi - in the evolutionary process both are thought to have had a common ancestor but took different evolutionary paths. And yes, scientists are still arguing over the above points. The real issue with Phytophthora is stopping the spread - I live in an area with no recorded Phytophthora infestations and yet often work in Phytophthora infected sites and the last thing I want to do is bring the disease into my area. In applying Phytopthora protocols to ensure I am not responsible for the spread I have to assume that every site I work on is Phytopthora free and thus I apply the correct practices at every site to protect that site. Never assume that Phytopthora is everywhere - it isn't. Do you know for certain if you have Phytopthora on your property? Has this been confirmed by the authorities? If yes, what steps do you take to ensure you don't spread the disease to areas that are not affected? Phytopthora can be spread by soil particles on your boots, do you think about that when you go for a bushwalk? The chances of Phytopthora spreading from Australia are remote as most Australian natives are propogated in the USA by seed or cutting, not be Jumbos loaded with 6" potted plants, and even then the soil would have to be treated to be Phytopthora free. I really don't think we need to be putting the fear of Phytopthora into "jeeboo" or any of our other overseas friends who are discovering a passion for our wonderful Australian natives.

Hi, Looks like the plant has an infestation of what is known as "soft" scale - a sap sucking pest which can disfigure leaves. It is usually found on both leaves and stems. Note that plants under some sort of stress are more prone to these pests particularly if they are growing in shade. The recommended control these days is to use one of the "eco" oils or Pest Oil. Try one of those first after reading the manufacturers instructions. If that fails, I'd think about buying a systemic insecticide such as Confidor (spray or tablets) and giving that a go. Wouldn't hurt to give the plant a little fertilizer about now as well - something suitable for bottlebrushes. Regards, Ted