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What's wrong with this mulberry tree?

12 years ago

It's been in the ground for a little over 2 years. When spring comes around, the new leaves come out green and beautiful. Gradually as the season progresses, the leaves turn like this. The last photo shows that there are still some healthy-looking leaves. Is the tree missing some nutrients?

Thanks,

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Comments (2)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
IMHO.. leaf scorch is RARELY IF EVER a food problem ... its a water issue ... or drought [which is a water issue]

mulch would help..

as would proper deep watering ..

and i would like to see a pic of where the trunk goes into the soil.. it looks telephone poled .... can you scrap back the soil ... until you see the root flare.. and let us know how deep that is ???

i had 8 weeks of near 100 temps... with no rain.. and many of my trees and shrubs have some superficial leaf damage ... thankfully the 3 inches of rain in the last 6 weeks is helping them get over all that ...

all that said.. one should rarely be concerned.. with ugly leaves on a deciduous tree.. weeks before the leaves fall off ... [please dont tell me they are evergreen in your zone.. lol] ....

ken
karinl
12 years ago
Interesting, I used to have a shrub (Weigela middendorffiana) that did that every single year for something like ten years (I finally gave it to a friend who needed to fill in a big yard and wasn't being too fussy). It can get dry in that area of the yard, in the root zone of a big apple tree, but many other plants do just fine there. I'm going to guess, then, that it was simply too dry for this particular plant. And that may be the case for your mulberry.

If I recall correctly, it used to happen in early summer and then later growth would look fine again. So there may be a particularly vulnerable time.

Karin L
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im with tom on that.. lol ... but its not really helpful to you ... you might want to try the fruit forum ... just maybe.. you find someone who knows ... i usually would refer questions of this type to a local orchard ... but i am not sure they are commercially grown ... as a newb.. understand there are very specific tree planting times .. for easy success .. with the heat of summer coming along very fast ... it is very hard to plant a fully leafed out tree ... it can be done.. it just might not be bulletproof ... trees are best planted.. dormant.. leafless .. and that would be fall after leaf drop.. or in early spring.. 6 to 8 weeks before the heat of summer ... when i learned all that.. i increased my success rate.. 50% ... see link and to be very clear.. i said.. to make it easy or bulletproof.. not that it is a hard and fast rule ... also ... a corollary ... just because you buy it at the wrong time of year.. doesnt mean it has to be immediately planted.. HOLD IT OVER... until the proper planting time ... ken https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub
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