Hi Travis

the conifer sounds like the canker that has been going through Perth,
slowly, surely and indiscriminately for many years. The gum trees could be
dieback or just 'their time', but do check them out for white ants. I am in
Ferndale, and can concur that the water tables are seemingly dropping,
though I have yet to actually lose any trees.

Good luck with replacements.

Lady Gardener

"Travis" wrote in message
oups.com...
About six months ago, an established conifer in my back garden (which
was already fully grown when I moved in about 10 years ago) started to
go brown. Its dead now.

A 5 year old eucalyptus which I planted in my front garden started
dying about 3 months ago. Leaves just started shrivelling up like it
had been poisoned and then the whole thing just died.

Another eucalyptus a couple of metres away from it which I'd planted at
the same time was next, it died a couple of weeks ago.

I don't know if this is in any way related, but I've got a bauxite
pebble driveway and on the weekend as I was dragging away the
chainsawed carcass of my conifer, my foot broke through the crust and
sank about half way to my knee. When I stamped around the hole, the
surrounds fell in too, now I have a big circular hole in my driveway
about 50cm wide and 30cm deep.

Having a sinkhole form in my driveway (there is no sinkwell under that
spot, before you ask) makes me wonder if water tables might be falling
in my suburb (Thornlie), but if it was something as wide as that I
might expect to see trees dying all over the place. They're not, its
just my trees.

There was an article in the local paper about dieback in the area, but
while this could be an explanation for my eucalypts dying I don't think
that affects conifers does it? (Maybe the conifer could be a
coincidence, it had just died of old age).

I have perfectly healthy (so far) citrus and stone fruit, my palms are
doing ok and my native garden out the front has plenty of other things
including advanced Hakeas, Melaleucas, Acacias and an Allocasurina
which aren't dying.

The two eucalypts side by side suddenly dying within a couple of months
ago does strongly imply to me that there is more than coincidence here.

Any thoughts?

Travis