Jeff Meola, MCH, ISA Certified Arborist
I have been seeing a lot of photos of leaf scorch coming across my desk related to drought issues. The common story is that the tree was planted this season and has been watered regularly, but the tree is still “dying”!
Here’s what’s happening: The tree has a reduced root system from being recently dug out of the fields. With the weather being very hot and very windy the moisture from the leaf is being pulled out faster than the small root mass can replace it, and as a result the leaf margins dry out and become crispy, giving the appearance of being dead.
In most cases the buds for next year are fine and the tree will be okay. Just keep watering and the tree should be fine. It’s not pretty, but given the dry summer we have had this is not an uncommon condition, and we are seeing the same condition in some well established trees at this point as well.
