I have 4 apple trees in m... - Ask Extension
I have 4 apple trees in my back yard that have been there for over 25 years.
This year they had very few bloosoms and now the leaves are wilting, turn...
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I have 4 apple trees in m... #194806
Asked June 27, 2014, 11:34 AM EDT
I have 4 apple trees in my back yard that have been there for over 25 years.
This year they had very few bloosoms and now the leaves are wilting, turning, yellow and falling. The branches seem dead where all the leaves have falling from. I live in a heavy wooded area and nothing else seems to be effected.
Sherburne County Minnesota
Expert Response
We can't be sure what's causing the problem without seeing the tree, but we can say that the symptoms you have described have been very common in Minnesota this spring because of the combined effects of severe drought and colder than normal winter conditions. Damage ranges from delayed leaf development to branch die back to total collapse (death).
University of Minnesota Plant Specialist Emily Hoover explains what happened this way:
"The tree has enough stored carbohydrates in the wood to get the buds growing in the spring. But the underlying vascular tissue that conducts water has died or been significantly injured. When the first warmish days arrive, and water is needed, the buds wilt and die due to a lack of water from the root system."
If significant portions of the tree remain healthy, it might recover.
Fruit trees in Michigan, including apples, were also affected. What follows may be of interest:
Tree death and dieback are evident in apples following Michigan’s hard winter
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/tree_death_and_dieback_are_evident_in_apple_following_michigans_hard_winter
University of Minnesota Plant Specialist Emily Hoover explains what happened this way:
"The tree has enough stored carbohydrates in the wood to get the buds growing in the spring. But the underlying vascular tissue that conducts water has died or been significantly injured. When the first warmish days arrive, and water is needed, the buds wilt and die due to a lack of water from the root system."
If significant portions of the tree remain healthy, it might recover.
Fruit trees in Michigan, including apples, were also affected. What follows may be of interest:
Tree death and dieback are evident in apples following Michigan’s hard winter
http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/tree_death_and_dieback_are_evident_in_apple_following_michigans_hard_winter
