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Is this normal for a Rowan?

Winchester_flareWinchester_flare Posts: 46
in Problem solving
Planted a mature Sorbus aucuparia in April and it has always been a bit short of leaves. Watered it a lot during the dry spell in May/June/July but not much since as there has been a lot of rain and the soil hasn't really dried out much.

In September it started losing quite a few leaves; turning black but I could also see buds forming. Now it seems to be budding new growth (see the bright green leaves in the last photo) which seems a very strange time of year to be doing this. Is this normal - anything I can do to help it?











Posts

  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    I suspect that in spite of your best efforts, it ran short of water after planting.  It's virtually impossible to overwater a newly planted tree unless your soil is boggy and doesn't drain.  Once you've noticed the soil is dry, the tree may well be suffering; the RHS says "watering to soak the root zone requires at least the equivalent of four watering cans per square metre".  Best to soak it really thoroughly and then leave it to dry out for a week or two before watering again.

    We can't see from your photos if your tree is planted in grass, or if you've a clear area around it.  This is important - grass will compete with the rowan for water and nutrients.  A 4ft diameter clear circle is recommended, which you can mulch with organic matter once the soil is properly wet.

    Hopefully it will survive - the new leaves late in the year suggest it will, with luck.  My guess is that the rain later in the year has stimulated this new growth.  I wouldn't worry about the early loss of mature leaves.  Some rowans do drop their leaves early (I have one which does), and it may be partly due to stress. 

    Are those plastic zip ties I can see in the first photo?  You need to remove them ASAP if so, because they'll cut into the bark as the tree grows.  It also seems to have a cane behind it, which of course is not sturdy enough to provide support - it needs a proper tree stake, preferably set at a 45 degree angle.

    Hope this helps.   :)


    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    I agree with the above. Last year our rowans shed their leaves in early september because of the drought but this year they haven't even shown any signs of autumn yet but other trees, mostly hawthorns, have lost all their leaves already. In the lake district a couple of weeks ago, the more exposed rowan had dropped their leaves as well.

    It looks healthy but it's also a decent sized tree so will need a good amount of water.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I agree - a large specimen recently planted will have needed huge amounts of water to successfully establish it. That 's very easy if you live in a wet area, but not if you live in one of the many very dry parts of the country. You can't overwater rowans unless they're sitting in a bog, and even then - the native ones can cope very well if they've naturally seeded there. They need half decent soil that doesn't readily dry out.
    The new growth will hopefully mean it should be ok, and as long as it has adequate rainfall over winter, it should recover well enough. Drought causes early leaf drop, unless you're further north when it's perfectly normal for autumn colouring to start in late August, early September, and trees are largely bare by October. Been very slow here this year because it's been so warm through September and October.

    I also wondered how it was planted -  and if it's directly into grass. That doesn't help at all. Those ties need removing, as @Liriodendron says, and a proper stake, or two, put in. First gust of wind and that'll be uprooted otherwise.  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I'm wondering if it is just something to do with the weather. I visited 2 gardens recently and they both had apple trees with blossom on them.

    When I was fairly young I planted several trees in our new big garden in Kent. I was more ignorant about gardening in those days and, apart from watering them just after planting, I don't remember watering them at all and I know I didn't clear away the grass around the base of them. They were in the lawn. They all survived.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Winchester_flareWinchester_flare Posts: 46
    Thanks all. It's planted in soil in a bed, soil to a diameter of a foot I'd say. Beyond that about a third of it's future root protection area is lawn, a third artificial lawn and a third bed (with mostly perennial grasses).

    I'm a bit annoyed as my garden design said I needed to be careful of over-watering; I'll give it a decent amount through the winter.

    Stakes ordered so thank you for flagging that too. Never had a tree planted so learning curve. Most of the videos on staking a tree show doing it before planting the root ball; anything I should be wary of staking a semi-established tree?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    If you use two stakes, in at an angle, one in each direction, that should be fine. Normally one would be fine, with the top pointing towards the prevailing wind, but in more exposed sites, two is better, and gives more stability.
    Make sure you use suitable tree ties too - they're readily available in GCs and diy stores etc. Don't have them too tight round the trunk - they should be tight against the stake, not the trunk, to allow for growth, and to avoid the problem @Liriodendron outlined. 
    The roots won't have spread to any extent yet as it's only been there a few months. It takes trees a long time to establish before they start growing. 
    Don't go mad with water over winter though. If it has enough root space, it should get plenty unless you're in one of those drought ridden areas in the south east of England.
    If you mulch regularly with organic matter, that will also help with soil structure and water retention, and that's especially useful next spring going into summer if your location is drier. It may be worth making the cleared area around it bigger if that's the case   :)

    I think the climate has changed substantially down there in the last 20 or 30 years 
    @Busy-Lizzie, so that's probably why it would have been easy to establish trees. Nowadays, it may not be so easy with the heat and dry weather for such long periods. Planting in spring, especially a more mature specimen, would never be as easy as planting a young tree just now either. Not a problem we have here, fortunately. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Winchester_flareWinchester_flare Posts: 46
    Thank you so much for your help. The site is very very exposed to NE winds so doubling up to protect against that and the prevailing SW sounds good. I'm in Hampshire, it has been a very wet late summer and September but zero rain for ~8 weeks in May and June. I did quite a bit of watering but in hindsight probably not enough for the reasons mentioned above.

    It's a replacement tree for TPO felled tree so need it to succeed.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    The fact that it's got new growth there is good, so fingers crossed it will come away. 
    The native rowans are very resilient, and will cope with stress quite well. They manage well enough with wind on our hills and moorland, although they can end up a bit 'sideways'  ;)
    They grow almost anywhere, including the tops of large boulders with minimal soil, because they get ample rain, or in at the edges of burns - coping with excess water through winter, and various wildlife having a chew at them. They're true survivors.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Agree that you can't really over water a new tree
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