I just went and looked at the tree again to make sure i had estimated the right height and I think I have underestimated it, it could be more like 8m tall I think. The shock theory is a good one, although we have recently (as of December) had our bore reticulation automated because we planted new lawn in our back yard. The yard is getting watered regularly (every other evening). Before December our yard was a sandpit for 8 months and before that, over run with weeds and knee high grass for years! Could it be the sudden attention has sent it into shock? You might have also read my post on the Sir Walter in the back yard starting to yellow, I'm starting to think the 2 problems may be related, as they yellow spots and lillypilly are all in the same general area. I have tested the ph of the soil and it is sitting between 6 1/2 and 7, so pretty much neutral.... What a mystery we have on our hands! Ange Ange

I did not mean to offend anyone, natives are good but you can't just plant them and leave them. I think you would have to do a fair bit of research regarding the best natives for your situation. You cant just stereotype them, give them the same treatment and expect them to look good. I did not tell nickyz to forget natives, just reconsider where they are to be planted. Palms (natives) do not cause the same leaf (and root) problems as other plants near pools to that would be the best option for this situation. On the gold coast I imagine that you can grow a very pleasing tropical native garden. If you do choose natives, you have to look after them. A really good book to get started is "Starting out with natives" by John Wrigley and Murray Fagg.

My experience with Hymenosporum flavum is from a California perspective, and they grow well here, but do seem to prefer sandy loam soils over heavy clay soils for best year round appearance. Did the leaf drop start to occur after either a prolonged dry period or a cold snap? These two things can cause them to drop foliage here, as well as the roots staying too wet. In fact, this tree can often struggle when planted in pure clay, although as they get larger they seem more tolerant. They also tend to drop leaves with the onset of colder weather, and push rapid new growth when it warms up again. If you know you don't have a drainage problem, I'd suggest you wait to see if it pushes new growth once the height of winter is past, although if you are located in Sydney right on the water, your winter couldn't be all that cold to cause leaf drop. Maybe try an organic or slow release fertilizer to see if that helps... There is also a noticeable difference in vigor of plants within a block of seed grown trees at nurseries here, and I always look for the healthiest specimens over the larger ones when selecting this tree for gardens. It often seems that straggly plants never amount to much here, even after they have settled in. I love using this tree, as it can bloom multiple times from spring into fall, never gets too densely shading, fills the bill when something tall and narrow and evergreen is wanted, and the fragrance is heavenly. Surprising to find that a subtropical rainforest species from Queensland does so well in a summer dry Mediterranean climate, and is even quite frost hardy, easily tolerating down to 22F freezes here, with no permanent damage except complete defoliation.

Gosh, it seems there's huge ecological restoration needed in your neighbourhood, blckrose. You've certainly described an environmental disaster zone of monumentous proportions. All of those factors you mention have had enormous negative impacts on native wildlife thereby causing many people to reach for the sprays because natural controls are no longer present. As you would be aware, Noisy Miners have proliferated because of the massive clearance of native understorey thereby creating their preferred open woodland conditions. You might also be aware that a number of communities are now conducting Indian Mynah eradication programmes in order to encourage the return of native woodland birds, many species of which are threatened but provide wonderful environmental services such as control of insect pests if given the chance. Cat controls are also slowly gathering pace but, of course, much more is needed if we are to have a cat-free, native wildlife restoration culture in Australia. So if we are to reduce the impact & cost of sprays in our environment then the issue needs to be tackled on a very broad, multi-pronged front, as you are perhaps implying, blckrose.