Melaleuca help - dry, dying tips

[sausmatoe]

Picked up this Melaleuca stock recently and it's been going down hill since I got it... the tips have dried up and are dying back

Was pretty bone dry when I picked it up so watered it heavily... apart from that it was exposed to some strong winds for a day or two.

Any idea what may be causing the die back?

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[treeman]

Probably dryness. If it has white roots it will recover. Cut off the dead shoots.

[shibui]

A few of mine have dried out unexpectedly in the last week since rain stopped but I have not got back into watering properly. As soon as I noticed I dumped them back into the water tray where they spend most of summer. I will cut off a lot of the damaged growth and repot next month when it has warmed up a bit more.
Loads of new growth requires a lot of water.
Pots that are pot bound have very little capacity to hold water as all the spaces are filled with roots so despite good watering they dry our super fast.
Spring is the time I lose most trees as growth is rapid and requires most water while the ones that have not been repotted are full of roots from previous years growth.

Solutions:
Sit the pot in a tray of water. Most Mels are swamp lovers so sitting in water is natural for them.
Repot. That will give new potting mix with more spaces for water and for new roots to grow.
Prune the top to reduce demand for water it cannot get while root bound.

Another possibility is that the new location has much more sun than previous place. Leaves can adjust but only slowly and often burn or suffer if suddenly exposed to strong sun.

[sausmatoe]

Awesome, thanks for the info!

I've put it in a water tray in a shadier spot to adjust to the new conditions.

I'll see how it goes over the next couple of days then think about a repot and trim... fingers crossed!

[Grant Bowie]

Put it in water but out in the sun preferably to shade. Get the new foliage going as quick as you can,

Grant