[mrs bouquet]

Firstly my huge grapevine, is losing leaves on a couple of the original very large branches.  Cannot see  !.
that may be causing this.
Secondly, my Tree Fern which is about 3.5ft tall, is looking very sickly, the new ferns are very pale and seem short in length.   Also the trunk has a build up of something white/greyish .  This has been there some years, and the specialist who sold it to me, who is fairly local, said a couple years ago not to worry.
When I first bought it many years ago, it was shaded by a trellis with wisteria, all of which is now removed, so the tree is in the sun.
Also, last week I received to italian cypressus, purchased on line.   The packaging was mch better than the trees  !!!!   I shall plant them on into containers, but not sure what soil to use.  Google didn't help much.   Any advice please will be welcome.  Mrs Bouquet

[Goosegirl]

Could be heat stress?

[New shoot]

The grape vine and tree fern could well be suffering from heat stress.  The tree fern in particular would prefer some shade.  Do you water the trunk at all?  That can help over summer.  Not only the growing point at the top, but all down the length of it.  When I worked at a plant nursery that sold a lot of these, we used to have overhead irrigation to gently water them all, but you can approximate with a hose.

Italian cypress hate sitting in wet soil over winter.  I would use John Innes as a base and then add fine grit and some decent multi-purpose.  I always find John Innes on its own it not that good, so mix in a bit of multi-purpose to lighten it.  The grit would be an extra for me for a plant that really does need good drainage.