Help My Red Bud..please!

jlbird101

I moved into my house about a year ago and I am new to tree care. My red bud has been dropping leaves since the beginning of the summer, however it has really accelerated the past two weeks. I have been keeping it watered about an inch a week. I did fertalize my lawn wih a 21-7-14, however I do not know if that would have been a contributing factor. I live in the DFW area and these pics were taken today 8/10/2008

Here are some pics

Tree is dying on the right


Branches growing from the trunk...i have been cutting these as they come up


Not sure what this is


Buds?


Front, Back and close up

treeseer

Tree is dying on the right

*can you take a picture of the main forks? look for wavy bark ridges

Branches growing from the trunk...i have been cutting these as they come up

*these should be cut lower, where they originate. less likely to resprout then.

Buds?

*this is called cauliflory, buds arising from bark. normal in redbuds but not that common.

Leaves do look pretty crappy but I don't know why.

osb_mail

was there damage done to the tree when the fence was installed . Also are under story trees .They grow under forest larger trees and dont always do good in open yards .

TreeSpecialist

Third picture looks almost like a mud tunnel for termites.

Even if it is, they're not the cause of die back.

The red bud is very rapidly nearing the end of its life and as such
will not be able to defend itself as it once did.

The fertilizer product seems awfully high - switch to an organic product with smaller numbers.

Be sure to stay away from any type of "weed and feed" products as these will adversely impact your tree(s).

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