I have a eucalyptus cinerea which I planted about six weeks ago in well drained soil and have just noticed that the leaves are turning red! I have been watering it about once a week. What could be the cause of this problem?
All the leaves or just the older leaves? Evergreens will drop leaves, mostly through the summer.........if its only the older leaves don't worry too much, its like an autumn colour thing. If it's the whole plant (i doubt very much it is) it's very strange......all the Eucalyptus i have lost (frost with tender species, and the odd one from drought) usually the leaves fade in colour or you will get browning on the edges of the leaves.
My Eucalyptus Nyphophylla tree started to die, and I stopped watering it, it came right back to life! It's grown by about 3 inches in the past month. Someone told me it might be dying because of overwatering, so I figured it can't die any more than it already has, I stopped watering it completely (although we've had rainfalls since then), but it's happily thriving just the way it is now! I'm not a pro, and not sure if your eucalyptus would have the same needs as mine... sorry, good luck with it though.
Thanks for the advice - I just noticed a few leaves near the bottom turning red. I could try to stop watering it. When I bought the eucalyptus in February I left it outside in a container in a sheltered spot where it got a lot of rain and it was doing fine at that point.
Eucs need little if any attention. Watering this time is absolutely not nessesary. Even during the heat of summer, only young plants may need some supplimentary watering. Quick free draining soil is key and do not stake Eucalyptus. Conditions like our native Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) are perfect for most Eucalypts. Cheers, LPN.
