Hello,

My puriri is looking very sick. One large branch has died off and looking from the house I thought it had been fractured and that was the cause of the die back.

However on closer inspection I find there are brown patches all over the trunk. The foliage now has three colours, the dead/dying section which I have cut off, a paler green which is obviously sick and then the darker green of the still healthy branches.

Whatever the problem is it seems to be advancing quite quickly. I have sprayed with Copper oxychloride.

Are you able to identify the problem and is the Copper spray likely to fix it?? Photographs attached.

Hi,

Your puriri has a couple of different problems.

The photo of the trunk shows lichen or fungus growth rings. Copper oxychloride spray will probably kill that if applied directly to the trunk.

The other photo shows crown contraction where the outer canopy dies back and then a lower crown re-establishes through epicormic growth from previously dormant buds.

Crown contraction is associated with root damage, ground pugging, and lower stem bark damage, which is most commonly caused by farm stock.

This type of damage is common on puriri and the combination of spraying, fertilising and pruning should assist in bringing the tree back to full health.

Geoff Davidson.