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Poorly sorbus autumn spire?

Andy LeedsAndy Leeds Posts: 518
in Problem solving
i bought this Sorbus aucuparia 'Autumn Spire at the end of April this year and it seemed to be doing well over summer.  I noticed a couple of days ago that the leaves are turning brown and curling up - seems the worst is on the lower parts but it’s pretty sorry looking.

Does anyone have any suggestions please?  Maybe it’s just still ‘settling in’ and will recover over autumn / winter or does it look like something more serious?

Thanks in advance.


Posts

  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    How have you been watering over the summer months? There’s a possibility it’s shutting down early due to lack of water. At temperatures above 24 degrees you would need to be watering in at least 1 bucket every 2-3 days. 

    Check all the branches and main trunk. Any oozing of sticky substance? 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 53,924
    How near that post is it? Assuming there's concrete under there [for the post] that will be hindering the root system.
    I'd also agree that a tree of that size will have struggled to get established in the  kind of hot dry weather we've had this year. Once they get dried out, it's hard to get them rehydrated properly. Rowans love water - and plenty of it.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Andy LeedsAndy Leeds Posts: 518
    Hmm the tree is a couple of feet away from the fence - concrete gravel boards but that shouldn’t be impacting I guess.  Posts are concrete but not close to the roots.  The ground was very hard clay that I tried to dig out as much as I could and backfill with soil / compost before planting.

    No oozing I can see but I hadn’t been watering that much, hopefully now that I’ve noticed I’ll ensure it’s not thirsty any more.  

    Just dont want it to it to die off 😔.
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    With no other problems with the trunk and branches, it's most likely a water issue. It's still quite hot at the moment, so you need to maintain the watering. Not little and often but generous bucket loads at a time. Going into the winter, you can add some bark chip mulch around the areas. Clay soils can be hard to control in the summer time, and the best thing is minimise exposure to the sun by covering the top layers.
  • Andy LeedsAndy Leeds Posts: 518
    Will give it a go.  Cheers 😀
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