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Eucryphia Cordifolia

prose5prose5 Posts: 5
in Problem solving
Some of my eucryphia cordifolia leaves are turning yellow and with patchy black/brown spots. I’ve had it for a year and it is in a large pot. Bought from a reputable nursery. It just looks generally ‘unhappy’.
Any advice would be most welcome.

Posts

  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    Hello prose5 and welcome to the forum. I have a Eucryphia but it is glutinosa. I suspect that your plant would be happier in the ground rather than a pot and they prefer acidic soil and being planted with other shrubs around them. If its been in the pot for a year it may have exhausted all the nutrients in the pot. Do you have any space in your garden to plant it out?
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • prose5prose5 Posts: 5
    Many thanks for getting back to me. 

    I can probably find a space for it. We do have a few raised beds or alternatively I could puncture the membrane we have under the aggregate that covers a fair area of our garden - we’ve had to install a lot of hard landscaping because of waterlogged and clay ground. However some of this area is slightly higher and doesn’t flood.

    Sounds like the answer!
  • Ladybird4Ladybird4 Posts: 37,906
    You are most welcome and good luck with the transplanting.
    Cacoethes: An irresistible urge to do something inadvisable
  • prose5prose5 Posts: 5
    Back again! 

    Planted the Eucryphia in the ground in May. OK for a while but during last month or so many leaves turning grey or brown, and curling up. I’ve kept up with the watering through the 2 heatwaves - maybe I’ve over done it?

    It’s so frustrating seeing pictures of what it should be like.

    Any help would be wonderful.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Is it in acidic soil?
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • prose5prose5 Posts: 5
    No, it isn’t. Generally our soil is clay based. However this species appears to be OK on all soils, according to many nursery websites.

    I have just bought a bag of ericacous compost, so could put it back in a very big pot to try and revive it …

    Any thoughts?
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039

    All Eucryphias require ericaceous or acidic soil except E. cordifolia and, to a lesser extent E. nymanensis ‘Nymansay’, which will tolerate some degree of chalkiness in the soil.

    Eucryphias all make small or medium sized trees (except perhaps E. milliganii) and they therefore require space in the woodland garden and full sun rather than shade for the best flowering effect.

    Eucryphias thrive in temperate rain forests so they do best when nestled in among other plants with their roots in moist conditions. As they grow together the Eucryphias will end up dominating but, in their own little microclimates, they will have protection from wind and cold. Cool and moist soil conditions rather than hot dry banks. Our Eucryphias do best where their roots end up in the shade.

    When Eucryphias were first introduced to the UK 150 or so years ago they were thought to be tender plants for the conservatory at Kew. We now know from experience that most Eucryphias are perfectly hardy in Southern England and that the best Eucryphia of all, E. nymanensis ‘Nymansay’ will survive (given shelter) in the majority of the gardens in the UK.

    As tall growing evergreen trees many Eucryphias are susceptible to having their weighty branches snapped off in strong winds. This is especially true of E. cordifolia. However adaptable Eucryphias are to windy conditions – and they do grow in far more stunted a fashion near the Cornish coast – nestling them in with other plants for wind protection is a sensible approach. If the mature plants blow over simply cut off the stems and push the stump back into its hole. We have found that the plants quickly re-shoot.

    Beyond that Eucryphias are trouble free. There are no particular pests or diseases to which they are prone in UK conditions.


    This is from Burncoose Nursery, one of the best tree and shrub nurseries in the country. It might help.

    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • prose5prose5 Posts: 5
    I know - this was one of the specialist nursery websites that I consulted. Hence my point about the Cordifolia variety. I think I’ll phone them to see if they can suggest a solution.
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