Leaves on Tree look Burned

[Ana]

Hi everyone, I joined this forum because I originally wanted to ask advice on how to trim this Royal Raindrops Crab Apple. I needed a tree of specimen quality for a focal point in my garden. After careful research I settled on the Royal Raindrops because it had an upright growth habit and a high canopy, so it would be easy to maneuver around with a lawn mower. I don’t have a large garden. None of the nurseries near me had any so I special ordered one. It came wrapped up and when they opened it up the limbs were all distorted. I was told that the limbs would relax over time and that the tree would be alright. Well, the tree never was alright. The limbs grew in all different directions. So, I wanted to ask how to prune this tree to give it a better shape and to raise the canopy so I’m not fighting limbs trying to get around it. Anyway, I went out today to take some pictures of it only to find that throughout the whole tree, the leaves seem to be dying – almost like they are burned. I’ve seen fire blight before and this resembles it, though what I’ve seen of that disease is that it starts at the tip of the limb and works it way up. I’ve manage to save roses hit by it in the past by cutting the limb up to a clean area. My sister said the tree looks like it’s lacking water though we’ve had higher than average precipitation this year, and the tree has been established since 2013, so I don’t think that is the cause. Anyway, if someone has any idea what this could be I would appreciate it. One thing I’d like to add is the only thing I did, which I do every year, is clean up all the old mulch from last year with a fan rake, put down some cow manure and brown bark (Scotts). I am going to load a lot of pictures now of the strange leaves. I’d also like to put some pictures of when I first purchased the tree, and how it grew after that. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

[Ana]

Here is the tree when I first got it. I wanted to cut off the bottom canopy but the tree looked bald in the middle when I pulled the limb down to do that so I didn't cut it.

 

[Ana]

Here are pictures of how it grew. I was hoping someone could direct me on how to prune it.

 

[Ana]

And this is what I was hoping for when I purchased this tree. One picture is in bloom and one is in the fall.

 

[Del_]

Looks like fireblight.

 

[Ana]

Looks like fireblight.

Are you sure? From what I understand the only sure way to get rid of this disease is to remove the tree. I have another Crab Apple tree not that far away from it. It looks fine, so far. I'm freaking out about this because I don't want this disease spreading all over my garden. The only saving grace about removing it is I wasn't particularly crazy about the shape of the tree and it didn't work in my yard, though the flowers were beautiful.

 

[ATH]

Looks like fireblight to me too. You can get it tested for $18 here: http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/horticulturesubmissionform.pdf

It will only spread to other plants in the Rosacea family, so hopefully that is not your whole garden. Many cultivars are resistant so perhaps the other crabapple is one of those and won't get it.

 

[Ana]

Looks like fireblight to me too. You can get it tested for $18 here: http://www.vetdna.com/application/forms/horticulturesubmissionform.pdf

It will only spread to other plants in the Rosacea family, so hopefully that is not your whole garden. Many cultivars are resistant so perhaps the other crabapple is one of those and won't get it.

Oh great, I have lots of roses around. So far, everything looks great but a dogwood also is developing leaves like this. I rarely water my garden unless it really needs it. Since I work a lot in another town where I saw a lot of rain I assumed it was raining where I live too. My neighbors told me that while we got sprinkles for the past several weeks, we got no downfalls. I'm really hoping that this is due to dehydration and not fire blight. Thank you for the information. I will take samples and get them in the mail tomorrow.

 

[JeffGu]

If you're disappointed in the tree's growth habit... remember, it's a fruit tree, whether edible or not. They require regular pruning to keep them healthy and looking good. Nurseries take pictures of the trees they sell that are especially good examples of what they can look like, and have been pruned by people with a lot of experience at doing it. Luckily, there's lots of information online about proper pruning of them. The very best way to get the hang of it, though, is to find someone who is very good at it and ask them if they would show you how to properly prune the tree, and offer to pay them. My wife and I found two such people.. one worked at a nursery, and got us started on pruning our fruit trees, the other is a guy who owns a fruit orchard... recommended to us by the nursery worker. He helped us with three trees, for half a day, and refused to take any payment. Great guy, and we've been out to see his trees several times. It really helps to see it done well. The requirements for an orchard, to keep the trees small, rounded and easily accessible for harvesting the fruit, and for maintaining good airflow/circulation to aid in disease prevention, are not that different than the requirements for ornamental fruit trees.

We let ours have a more natural form, but do prune them to increase their fruit production and keep them healthy... we can't possibly eat all of what they produce, so we can it up and give the excess to friends and relatives. I actually enjoy the pruning, and fruit trees handle it extremely well. Very forgiving and it's easy to fix mistakes. My pruning on ornamental trees has improved considerably from the practice I get on the fruit trees. Don't be afraid to learn how to do it!

 

[sb47]

Looks like it was planted too low and it water logged. Been wet lately? Does it stay wet in that area of the yard?