Whitebeams shedding leaves early

rdraper · 21st August 2007, 04:42 AM

I planted whitebeams about 10 years ago (2 groups of 3), and they have grown to about 15/20 feet. We live in the south of England in Wiltshire, renowned for its chalky soil. They always come into leaf and flower well, but as far as I remember they never berry. I thought this was because they were young, but I put in a new plant elsewhere in the garden three years ago and it is berrying already. This year has been even odder....the north and east sides of the trees have already lost their leaves (in August!) and have been curling up and going brown over the last month. It's true it has been an odd year climatically and generally everything is a month ahead of normal. But these trees are not right. They are grown standing on their own in lawn, although there is a cleared patch of earth below them (the grass never grew anyway). At this time of year they should be fully leaved and have tons of berries. Any ideas, anyone? Cheers!

Sean Freeman · 21st August 2007, 05:01 AM

Hi rdraper....any chance of some pics?....if not what sort of whitebeams are they? When you say the turf never grew was that before the trees were planted? What is the ground like in this particular area...sloping, hollow, as well drained as elsewhere? Is the newer planting the same variety as these, and are the conditions similar....light, water wind exposure etc?

Sorry to give you so many questions but you info is a bit too vague to be able to give any meaningful suggestions as to the possible cause of the defoliation.

Ekka · 21st August 2007, 06:13 AM

Browning leaves, is that part of the normal deciduous event or dying as in the tree dying?

Is the north and east sides the shadiest/darker sides that dont get as much sun?

Also, why isn't the grass growing, is not that a bit odd or is it simply too shady for it to grow?

Something is skew whiff that's for sure, some pics like Sean said would be great, over all view, then close up where the trunk goes into the ground etc.

rdraper · 21st August 2007, 06:48 AM

They are Sorbus aria as far as I know. A few pictures attached. 1835 is shot from the west showing the overall site, 1836 is a close up from the same side, showing reasonable healthy leaves but no berries, 1837 is from the north west showing both sides of the trees, 1838 is a closeup from the east side. You can see the amount of leaves on the ground. They are planted in a lawn, so the grass would normally grow, except it is right under the trees. It's a flat well drained site. Chalky area, but these trees are supposed to like that. Our prevailing winds are from the SW, the Atlantic gulf stream, and when we get cold winds they blow from the north and east. The NE side has lost its leaves. You can see that have curled up and gone brown, but this is very early in the season and no other trees are shedding yet. The season is quite advanced here, and it's been very wet this summer (hence the green lawn).

Thanks for the v rapid replies. Hope this helps some more

Richard

Roller · 21st August 2007, 09:15 AM

Put woodchip and a few handfulls of growmore around the tree base, to be honest there isn't much you can do if they have a fungal infection, if you see any pests on the leaves give the tree a good spray of Derris..

21st August 2007, 04:42 AM	#1 (permalink)
rdraper I'm new here so be nice Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Wiltshire, UK Posts: 2	Whitebeams shedding leaves early I planted whitebeams about 10 years ago (2 groups of 3), and they have grown to about 15/20 feet. We live in the south of England in Wiltshire, renowned for its chalky soil. They always come into leaf and flower well, but as far as I remember they never berry. I thought this was because they were young, but I put in a new plant elsewhere in the garden three years ago and it is berrying already. This year has been even odder....the north and east sides of the trees have already lost their leaves (in August!) and have been curling up and going brown over the last month. It's true it has been an odd year climatically and generally everything is a month ahead of normal. But these trees are not right. They are grown standing on their own in lawn, although there is a cleared patch of earth below them (the grass never grew anyway). At this time of year they should be fully leaved and have tons of berries. Any ideas, anyone? Cheers!

21st August 2007, 05:01 AM	#2 (permalink)
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 1,645	Hi rdraper....any chance of some pics?....if not what sort of whitebeams are they? When you say the turf never grew was that before the trees were planted? What is the ground like in this particular area...sloping, hollow, as well drained as elsewhere? Is the newer planting the same variety as these, and are the conditions similar....light, water wind exposure etc? Sorry to give you so many questions but you info is a bit too vague to be able to give any meaningful suggestions as to the possible cause of the defoliation. __________________ Sean Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, We fell them down and turn them into paper, That we may record our emptiness. - Kahlil Gibran

21st August 2007, 06:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
Ekka Eric Frei Administrator - Brisbane L5 (Dip) Hort Cert III Arb + some Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 6,868	Browning leaves, is that part of the normal deciduous event or dying as in the tree dying? Is the north and east sides the shadiest/darker sides that dont get as much sun? Also, why isn't the grass growing, is not that a bit odd or is it simply too shady for it to grow? Something is skew whiff that's for sure, some pics like Sean said would be great, over all view, then close up where the trunk goes into the ground etc. __________________ Remember to use the "search" function, if you have answers/questions post them so everyone can benefit. Free Tree and Green Industry Link Directory Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping Brisbane Tree Care, Consultations and Arborist Reports Forum Sponsors

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21st August 2007, 09:15 AM	#5 (permalink)
Roller Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Suffolk UK Posts: 206	Put woodchip and a few handfulls of growmore around the tree base, to be honest there isn't much you can do if they have a fungal infection, if you see any pests on the leaves give the tree a good spray of Derris..