on the very right middle.. looks like a bit of sunburn or scorch ...

but extremely hard to tell otherwise..

ya think you might be able to mosey out there and get a good pic??? .. lol

ken

The problem is the tops of those branches are about 15-20 feet above the deck. :-) My only option is to shoot from above.

Here are some other attempts now that there's a bit of sun. (Only 3-4 hours of sun a day for this tree BTW.) If these are still inconclusive I can borrow a better camera.

{{gwi:368334}}
{{gwi:368336}}

i though you were just being lazy.. lol

here jsut south of ann arbor MI ... we had a very cold damp may ... followed by a week of 90 to 100 degrees..

i have this type of sunburn or scorch on a multitude of plants across the yard ...

i think it was just so grey for so long at leaf out.. that when the blistering sun and heat hit.. the leaves just couldnt handle it..

was you weather anything as described???

ken

Looks perfectly normal to me. Good leaf color and good spring growth. I wish all my Cornus florida looked that good!

Thanks folks.

Ken -- May wasn't too bad here. There seemed to be an average amount of sun.

Kenptn -- What I find odd is that none of the new growth prior to the leaves in question had this color to them. (And there has been a good amount of it.)

What kind of soil is it potted in?

Has it been in the same pot for a few years? What size is the current pot?

How often are you fertilizing it and with what?

Jamie

It's been in the same ~20 inch pot for 4 years. (Last fall we trimmed the roots for the first time.) It was planted in potting soil and I've been adding manure and slow-release fertilizer a couple times a year.

Trees in pots generally don't do well long term with soil that stays very wet. It is much better to use a fast draining soil and water more frequently. At this point, that would likely be better done late in the fall or early spring.

You can read a lot more about fast draining soilless mixtures and why they are important in the container gardening forum.

I've not found organics in containers to be very reliable. Slow release are generally not the best either, but if they are a very high quality one such as osomocote, then they can be used safely.

The best way to feed is in the water. It is best to use small doses frequently, but most trees will tolerate a normal dose less often. Foliage Pro is a great product for containerized plants. Though you can use any water soluble fertilizer, such as miracle grow, you do need to be more careful about how much you use with the heavy soil and compost as salts will build up in that soil.

As to the problem, you may have a PH problem that is causing chlorisis or it may be a lack of iron. Your PH could be high from the manure you added, or from the soil it's self.

You also may have a build up of salts in the soil that is causing a problem. I would flush the whole thing out a number of times in a row, then try a dose of foliage pro, you will have to order it or get it at a Hydroponics type of supply.

If your going to keep this in a container long term, I highly suggest you spend some time over in the container gardening area to learn more about the long term care of containerized plants.

Jamie

Thanks Jamie.

It is Osomocote that I'm using. What luck.

I'll check out the container forum -- thanks for the tip. This tree has been doing surprisingly well given that it's stuck in this pot with limited sun, but I figured there would be more work involved in keeping it alive long-term.