Help with our Eucalyptus !!

Hi,
I know this must sound like a really daft thread but I'm clutching at straws !!
Our 12 year old eucalyptus tree is looking dead - dry, brown leaves, snappy twiggs and deeply peeling bark. Beariung in mind most other trees are now well on their way to summer I'm concerned it's died but really don';t want to remove it if there may still be a chance

Last autumn ther tree shed a major side branch in very high winds, which resulted in a large open 'wound' to the trunk. this was sealed and protected but ther tree had lost about 40% of it's total size so this was a major loss.

Over the winter it has suffered a prolonged period of cold in an exposed, windy location in a north facing aspect.

Now it looks like it's had it..

Am I being daft hoping to see some new growth or have the events ov the last year been too mjuch for the tree ?

Any advice would be gratefully received

Thanks
Dave G

 

Thanks Shiney,

Will hold off with the chainsaw for a while ! Tried scraping the bark and I must say, it's brown not green and moist but then again the trunk has a diameter of about 18 " so there may be some good healthy stuff inside..

Anyone else had a eucalyptus tree come back from the dead ??

Regards

Dave G

 

Hi DaveG

What do you mean by the wound being 'sealed and protected'?

Is it possible for you to post as few photos of the tree to get a good idea of the damage done? Scraping the bark is a good idea on small plants and shrubs, but on larger trees parts of the tree could die off and leave other parts quite active. As long as the tree still has the ability to draw up water and nutrients from the soil and the wound hasn't meant that infection has got in then the tree should be OK. If any physiological function of the tree has been impaired by damage, infection or drought then it may just need time to reassert itself.

 

I've had a smaller one than yours die in me this winter Dave.

Some species are hardier than others and I'm getting plants, ( not gums), die this year that have survived two colder winters, it seems to have just built up on some plants that are borderline hardy.

 

Hi Everyone,
I can't believe how quickly I've got some good advice - Thanks to all..

The area where the trunk split was treated with arbrex about 10 days after the event unfortunately. If you think of a "Y" shape, the bit that came off corresponds to one of the arms of the letter Y....So quite a significant insult to the tree I would have thought which also resulted in an open area without bark extending about 1/3 of the way round the circumfrence of the trunk, close to the ground.

The tree is about 30" tall so I'm worried that such a loss of bark at the base would have made it unable to draw up water.

Will try to do some photos but, suffice it to say it looks very dead !