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Leucadendron argenteum

Jim Duggan wrote:

>In the nursery I have lost many plants this summer.  Several favored plants
>in my garden also suddenly succumbed.  Many of my customers also reported
>seemingly unexplained losses.  I am beginning to believe that the culprit
>is an usually unseen enemy.  Hot humid weather that leads to root diseases.
[snip]
>roots) and are plump and firm.  The diseased roots will be off color, not
>plump and firm and the outer surface easily sloughs off.

During August we had a week of impossibly hot, steamily wet weather,
that was more typical of that found in a S. American rain forest than
th far south west of the UK.  In a matter of days, I noticed severe
wilting of many plants including Diascias, Echiums and an established
Leucodendron.  Around the base of the Diascias I noticed masses of
filamentous, fungal thread like growths and assumed that and explosion
of soil and air-borne fungal infections had caused the damage.
Several of the Diascias died, so too did a magnificent, huge clump of
Echium pininana and of course, the Leucadendron.

A couple of years ago, after a similarly hot and humid spell, I lost a
specimen of Eucalyptus rhodantha, presumably for the same reasons.
I'm always a bit wary of using too many chemicals, but have decided
that after this year's devastation, the moment we look as though we
are going to get a similar spell of weather, I will spray and drench
with fungicide.

>So if this is the problem, what the heck do we do about it.  Well first we
>could move to England where the weather is cooler.  

Well, as you can see from the above, we are not immune to similar
problems and it would seem that each summer brings new records in
terms of extremes - particularly in the south.

David Poole
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