I am a novice, so you all know! Because of this I hired a landscaper to plant trees to shield my back garden from an ugly development. I live in England near Cambridge, and the Ecalyptus debeuzevillei was planted by this landscaper about a year and a half ago. I've sadly watched it lose lots of leaves, not grow very well...in short, it fails to thrive. Enclosed is a picture. The tree is the same size as when he planted it, but now with much thinner foliage. My theory is that the soil is wrong for the species. There is a lot of clay and chalk...pH 7.5 - 8.0, with poor drainage. I checked the pH with a prong tester and confirmed it with a chemical test. I'm hoping someone can confirm / deny my theory and advise me on the best species of eucalyptus to plant in the fens of England in the aforementioned soil type. (As added information, the Scotch Pines planted by the same landscaper are diseased and seem to be dying also. Cheers, from the Merry Olde...Bruce
Looks fairly normal now. Subalpine gums like this are not dense-growing. Probably it had problems with being handled at such a large size, may be on the upswing now. Sometmes these do also shed twigs as though blighted, I have a couple doing this myself. If any more appear, try clipping them and taking them to trusted information source like favorite nursery or Agriculture Ministry office (I these are set up like the Cooperative Extension offices here). If the strap is supposed to keep it off the plant below, maybe you should move the plant away from it instead.
Chalky soil isn't good for them, nor for Scots Pine either. Try something else, such as holly, yew or junipers, that will do better on chalk. Or take a look at Cambridge Botanic Gardens and see what is doing well there.
