Eucalyptus coccifera

[Stu]

I have an establshed eucalyptus which was 40ft high last summer and in good condition. I had about 12ft lopped in the autumn, which was followed by the severe winter. It now appears very out of sorts. Little bits of weak new growth appear on the tips of some, but not all branches, and the majority of the existing leaves have been browning and falling for some weeks and show no signs of stopping. The bark on the branches isn't shining and it is bare on the trunk.

Is this reversible ?? Any advice would be appreciated.

Many thanks

Stu

[gardening_guru]

Hello Stu,

Eucalyptus coccifera is fully hardy but it could well be that the juvenile foliage is not quite as tough. I think the timing of the pruning was probably wrong. I think I would have waited until early spring. Whatever is wrong with it, I think it will probably recover. All you can do in the meantime is prune off any poorly/damaged branches and clear up the fallen leaves to prevent ant pests over-wintering in them.
If the tree is still alive next spring, but poorly you could bite the bullet and dramtically reduce it in size to a shrub. Radical pruning should result in lots of the juvenile, more attactive foliage, however in your case I would consider this option a last resort.