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Crab apple leaves turning brown.

RobmarstonRobmarston Posts: 338
in Problem solving
I bought a tall crab apple last year in the late autumn and planted it in the garden. It started to leaf up and blossom earlier this year but very sudden some of the leaves have turned brown, dried up and fallen off. It happened very suddenly after some rain and they seemed to go black first. I put it down to some kind of wind or frost scorch but now I’m worried it might be something else. I’ve attached photos. Can anyone help? Should I be worried? What can I do? It wasn’t a cheap tree and I don’t want it do die. I bought it at about 12ft high. Thanks. 

Posts

  • ElizaRoseElizaRose Posts: 121
    I'm sorry you didn't get an answer to this. It could be frost damage and then some kind of bug or fungus got to it.

    I would be tempted to prune off all the stems affected with this.

    (Last year I had a lilac that had leaves looking like that bottom one in the second photo. It seems ok with new leaf growth this Spring.)

    Hopefully someone more knowledgeable can help. 
  • RobmarstonRobmarston Posts: 338
    Thank you for that answer. I was hoping frost damage as it would repair but at the moment it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. All the branches near the trunk are almost completely bare. 
  • RobmarstonRobmarston Posts: 338
    Can anyone help with this?
  • kirstytolmiekirstytolmie Posts: 2
    Hi there, just wondering if you ever got to the bottom of this and if your tree recovered. I am having exactly the same issue with my crabapple.
    Thanks!
  • RobmarstonRobmarston Posts: 338
    @kirstytolmie.  Basically it was thirsty and we’d had a lot of wind. It was quite newly planted so it was under strain and I hadn’t pruned it. All these things had an impact. It recovered well enough though. 
  • kirstytolmiekirstytolmie Posts: 2
    Many thanks for your answer. Our tree is planted in a country park (it's a memorial tree) and the park ranger said exactly this. I'm hoping with regular watering and going to try mulch we'll see am improvement. 
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