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RE: xanthorrhoea (grass trees) are sick

Posted 153 days ago

I probably shouldn't even be offering anything towards your problem because I don't know much about them. Except to say that it is possible your plants have been sick for a very long time. In such a slow growing plant it takes ages for problems to become visible.

I suppose you were advised to use seasol and brown augar on them? Never heard of it before myself. If it were me I would stop that for a while to see if there is any noticeable change for the good.

RE: xanthorrhoea (grass trees) are sick

Posted 144 days ago

hey sham,
if they've been in ground 2 years they won't need watering except maybe once or twice in mid-summer if it doesn't rain. Nine times out of ten these problems are soil water related.
Dig down near base - are there any healthy new roots - should have a nice reddish tinge. Does soil smell good or a bit off? if soil seems soggy and a bit smelly open it up a little with a fork to get some air in (but don't trash all the roots.
They like full sun, but manage happily on filtered light. They don't like wet feet unless they are in coarse free draining sands where they get some dry out time.
Seasol isn't necessary, brown sugar a bad idea - doesn't give plant much and provides very good food for fungi in the soil
if the foliage is in bad shape you can always burn it off (even using a propane torch) - this will force a new burst of growth. But fix soil first and resist urge to water - especially in winter.
good luck
steve