Young Eastern redbud, approx 3 years old. Planted in South Texas during mid March, had lots of rain this summer and the tree was doing exceptionally well but August was pretty hot for us. Is this just heat stress or a deeper rooted issue?
by Chum4365
3 Comments
Leaf scorch from heat or fungal disease from rain. Probably isn’t dead, give it a few weeks. It should bud and leaf back out just fine.
Looks like sun scorch. Does water hit the foliage at all when you irrigate? Water droplets on leaves in a hot and dry environment act like a magnifying glass to an ant.
To be clear, sun scorch can happen anyway, but can be even worse if water remains on that foliage through the heat of the day.
Also, excess moisture and humidity in the canopy when there isn’t sufficient moisture in the ground ups the trees stress level, which opens the door to stronger fungal attacks. As long as the tree is getting sufficient water at the roots, you can hit it with a fungicide. Won’t turn black leaves green again, but can increase the trees vigor so that I can push past the stress and put out new growth that doesn’t get affected the same way.
Whether you should do that now depends on your growing zone. I’m in z5 at higher elevation, so I don’t dare promote new growth at this stage of the season as it won’t have time to harden off before winter. Your zone is probably completely different. I’ve only been to Texas once. Didn’t care for the Texas sized bugs, lol