Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Good-Bye, Little Snowman

I didn't want it to be true, but it looks like another of my eucalypts has fallen victim to the saturated soil in my backyard.
This is Eucalyptus pauciflora "Little Snowman", which is supposed to have glossy leaves, not these bleached looking ones. There is no sign of the new shoots which one would expect in spring. The leaves on the lowest branches are definitely dead, these higher ones just look sick.

A few Gum-Leaf Skeletoniser caterpillars (Uraba lugens) are still finding some nutrition in the leaves:
I wonder if they will make it to pupae stage before the tree dries out?

I don't think there are any leaks anywhere on my property. The water must be coming from one of my neighbours, but I don't know how to work out where. I have one eucalypt left, which is looking a bit ragged, but which is about to flower. Only time will tell if that's a good thing, or if it is flowering as a last effort to reproduce before it too expires.

4 comments:

Chiara Z said...

what a pity!

kaiteM said...

that's so very sad.

kaiteM said...

Mum said can you get a plumber/drainer to check it out? she's worried that eventually it might reach your house foundaations.

Dee said...

Just an idea....If you dig a series of holes along your fence line and see which one fills with water first. It may help direct you in the right direction.