Knowledgebase
Leaves Turning Brown and Dry #834565
Asked June 08, 2023, 1:14 PM EDT
Windham County Vermont
Expert Response
Thank you for contacting the UVM Master Gardner Helpline with your question about the damage to your tree leaves. The pictures were helpful in helping us see the damage.
Based on the experience and calls coming into the UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic, we believe that your tree is experiencing damage caused by the late frost/freeze that we had in late spring. Ann Hazelrigg who is the director of the clinic prepared the following press release: https://www.uvm.edu/news/extension/frost-damage-vegetables-and-landscape-plants.
As Ann states in her article, while your tree may lose some of the leaves that were on the tree during the frost, it should recover without any long-term damage. It doesn’t look like the damage is extensive enough to require any further action, but later this year if you do see damaged limbs, you can trim them out following the advice in this article from the University of Missouri Extension entitled “Ice and Freeze Damage to Ornamental and Fruit Trees: Implications and Remediation”: Ice and Freeze Damage to Ornamental and Fruit Trees: Implications and Remediation | MU Extension (missouri.edu)
I hope this information is helpful and puts your mind at rest. This year’s late frost and quick hot and cold weather changes have been hard on our landscapes. If you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out.