Please check the base of the trunk for cankers or what looks like bark damage right at the soil line. This happened to one of my liriodendrons a few years ago and it displayed the same leaf curl you are describing. It hung in there one more year after that and then croaked. I am now seeing it on a volunteer tulip tree, quite large and healthy but seeing the same disturbing issue at the soil line. I didn't plant it and we have lots and lots of trees on the property, so never really took the initiative to have it diagnosed. But it's the one thing and the only thing I have against liriodendron.

Check inside the curled leaf for critters. Around here, tulip trees often get aphids.

i had a pretty bad freeze here in adrian MI .. rather than frost a week back ...a couple of my TP are damaged .... but not all ...

if it fully leafed out .. properly.. i doubt it has anything to do with last year ....

what they said to check for other things ....

otherwise ... give it a trickle deep drink ... and hopefully it will leaf back out .... as most mature trees do ...

ken

I too think aphids. Some years the grass under the Tulip Poplar was black with the fungus that grows in the aphid honeydew. The tree doesn't seem too affected. The Magnolia scale that sometimes appears is a bigger blow.

Most years the aphids are eaten by the end of June, at least that's how it seems because they are gone and they leave little wispy black things behind. I don't spray, things that eat aphids show up and gorge themselves.

There is also a cuculio who is specific for liriodendron. I brought it to the attention of one nursery who was selling them like that and they did not do anything to remedy the situation. Let us know what you find after an initial inspection of the tree with the details we've provided and if it hasn't helped we can explore further.

Thanks everyone. These trees are about 35 years old. One is damaged badly (split), but the other 2 are healthy. No signs of any bugs yet.

Just to let you know...........the trees have put out new leaves. So I think the curled leaves were damaged by low temps.......Maybe not enough to fall off, but to be injured. The injured leaves are starting to develop spots on them. So.......I guess it was a frost. Other types of trees seemed to do okay with the frosts (except for the black cherries).