The most likely cause of what shows in your photo is overly wet soil either from over-watering, heavy rains, or poorly draining soil mix. Peppers don't like continuously wet roots and leaf margins curl and brown and it sheds leaves directly at the stem junction when kept overly wet. Plus if it has been especially cool weather lately that makes the problem worse as the soil is still too cool. Usually letting the soil dry substantially and warm up will stop the problem. Weather this year is creating many unusual problems that only delaying planting beyond the norm will resolve. Dave

I applaud you for the effort you have gone to, to get your grevillea growing in a pot. When you water the pot, perhaps you could try immersing it in a bucket of water, until all the air bubbles stop coming out of the pot. This really is the best way to water pots. Sometimes potting mixes become "hydrophobic" which means they repel water, and it is difficult to water pots from above when this is the case. Perhaps you could try buying a smaller Grevillea banksii, the one in the picture is large and does look like it should be in a bigger pot. A smaller plant might be easier to handle and would have a greater chance of getting used to its situation, early on. If you buy a plant that is reasonably advanced it has become used to its place in the nursery. Then you take it home and plonk it on your balcony and it could go into shock. A word about the cow manure, make sure it is well rotted. You sound like you are interested in plants, perhaps you could do some research into your "local species", I am sure there are horticulturists in Brazil who must be interested in preserving the local plants. Sounds fascinating. Drainage is important too, so let the pot drain when you have done the immersion in the bucket. It is equally important to make sure the pot does not have too much watering. So make sure there are dry periods between watering. You could stick your finger into the potting mix to get an idea as to how wet the mix is. I have seen this tree growing near me and it is huge. Here is a link that might be useful: Plants of Cerrado region.

Jennifer —-(Spraying with Neem Oil and or and other mixtures to eradicate the insects organically could still harm those beneficial insects. Some people will just let those pest stay on the tree because they dont want to harm them. Its a difficlt choice to make for some and you need to understand that some bad infestations that might get out of hand and could cause your trees to become weak and allow other diseses to slowly kill your tree. i always try and let Mother Nature work on the right balance of the pest verses the beneficial insets to keep everything in check. But sometimes i will have to step in and use more than organic to combact the problem. its up to you to decide what is best for your tree. Laura Even those that eat leaves ___ Katydids 🌺

I get a little bit of this, but usually on the outer leaves. I pull those leaves and eat the rest! Nancy