is it dead, or will it grow?

Not sure if you’ll be able to see clearly from the photo, but I have now officially pronounced this tree dead! It’s (was) an eucalyptus tree I bought for £1 at the Bath & West Show some years ago – lovely trees, which grow rapidly, but with shallow roots. It blew down during one storm and I lovingly staked it up, protected the trunk until it could continue to grow unsupported. However, the time came for change – now, trees you must understand don’t like change. After all, the spot I’d chosen suited it well, it had grown through the difficult times, but now there was another job it might do just as well. The problem was, it meant moving place – the job was down the bottom of the garden where it’s vigorous growth could block out the sight of the houses rising up the hill beyond our garden. I set about my plan – move the tree. ‘It wont work’ some said, the roots will be too well established. I didn’t want to hear that. Oh well, I thought I’ll give it a go – if I lose it, it wont be the end of the world as it was now too big and crowding out other growth we anted to see in smaller shrubs adjacent. I dug a big hole around the tree to expose the roots, but even though I’d read they were shallow, they’d been there a few years now and their depth and size surprised me. I tried to dig around them, but couldn’t really dig out next doors fence! I got so far and thought ‘that’s far enough’ – out came the axe. I tell you, it was much quicker to remove the tree from its place by cutting the roots – Maggie came out surprised I’d moved it so quickly. It looked good in its new location, but I wasn’t convinced it would grow. Hey, that looks like new green growth doesn’t it – there were signs of growth at the ends of branches. This initial spurt was short-lived, however, and slowly, but sadly surely, decline set in. Almost unnoticeably at first branched began to turn brown … until now. The tree still maintains its height and its size, but dead is what it appears to be!