When I blogged about my birthday a couple of weeks ago I mentioned how well the fruit trees are settling in – well, if ever there was a case of famous last words… Our apple, Red Devil, is now having a devil of a time (I don’t regret that pun even though I probably should).
On the 21st of June, I noticed the tree had an aphid infestation so I sprayed it with soapy water. It was a sunny morning, but it wasn’t sunny hot.
And I thought no more about it until a week later when I noticed the leaves were turning brown. I told myself it was water scorch marks from when I sprayed it and vowed never to torture the tree again in this manner.
But this morning when I visited the plot I found the leaves also turning yellow and dropping.
I’ve looked online and I’ve scoured my allotment books and yet I’m still none the wiser. Is it water scorch, stress from the current heatwave, rust, or scab? So far the pear and cherry aren’t showing any signs, but I don’t want to also curse them with famous last words.
If anyone reading this has any advice, it will be gratefully received. Please help me save my tree!
A Whole Plotta Love 
Give it buckets of water.
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Thanks, Sharon. I will do this. Fingers crossed for recovery!
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No idea what it is, hope it survives though!
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Isn’t is overwhelming, the amount of things we have to worry about on our plots! I thought after we sorted the rabbit issue that it would all be plain sailing. Oh, how wrong I was…
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I have heard that sometimes the yellow is a sign of a missing mineral, just specking out loud, Do you have a local nursery you can take a leave to, they should know?? how frustrating….xxkat
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I also wondered about a mineral deficiency, but we dug in a lot of well rotted manure before planting the tree, so I’m not sure what it could be short of. Contacting a nursery is a great idea. I might email the company I bought the tree from and see whether they can suggest anything. Xx
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seeif you can send them a picture of the leaf…
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I believe newly planted trees need a LOT of water because they’ve not yet developed an extensive root system. Plenty of mulch will help. It’s probably had a bit of a shock in this weather. Good luck.
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Thank you. I think we may have inadvertently planted the tree at the worst time! We’ve upped the watering and new, green leaves are appearing so hopefully it’s on the mend. Good idea about the mulch, I’ll give it a go.
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