Thanks for the detailed reply. If I understand correctly, your analysis is that the tree received too much water initially, so that the roots did not develop properly; now in drier and hotter weather, the inadequate root system is unable to do its job.

Shade: As it turns out, the tree does get mid-afternoon shade; it is about 2-3 meters to the east of a large Leland Cypress windbreak. We didn't know about the shade requirements; we just lucked out. I'll try to verify the shade time tomorrow, keeping in mind that these are the longest days of the year.

Rootball: The rootball was in a standard size container from the nursery -- 5 gallon, I believe -- and we followed the directions concerning spreading out the roots.

Drainage: What I don't know about is drainage. Both are on a slope of about 20 degrees, so I would imagine that drainage is not a problem.

So my plan is to increase the water so that the soil is slightly moist to a 1 in. depth. I assume that I should not over-water lest the roots be inhibited from developing?

Thanks,
Jeff Cagle

any chance of a hail storm in the last month???

might just be transitory damage caused by such.. not becoming readily apparent until the heat sets in?????

i would ignore it...

ken

I love my Oklahoma redbud, and I did notice that some of the leaves in your pictures show leaves with yellow cast, and the veins darker than the rest of the leaf. If that were my tree, I would make sure that it got a dose of Ironite, or its equivelent, as those are signs of iron, zinc deficiencies. If you have suddenly had very hot weather from coolish weather, some shedding may be normal, but it is the kind of situation you want to watch. You seem to have received excellent replies here, but I didn't see any comment on the deficiencies, something I know that I try to watch on all of my redbuds.

Happy gardening!

Our Oklahoma Redbud also has a few leaves turning yellow and dropping off. These leaves are the interior most, and are heavily shaded by later growth, and our weather has turned much hotter of late, though there has continued to be weekly rain. So in our case, I think it's just weather and shade. I also tend to agree that it looks like there may have been some hail damage, or perhaps a fungal spot disease if the weather has been wet/cool. Even if it is a fungal disease, it's not likely to be a major problem, and I wouldn't worry about it, unless it got much worse or on almost all the leaves, plus if it is fungal, the warmer drier weather will stop most fungal problems in their tracks.

On a side not, if you do want to fertilize, get your soil tested first, and if it is determined that you have a deficiency, please don't use Ironite. It has been analyzed to contain VERY HIGH levels of heavy metals. Things you don't want in your soil, and heavy metals that can be especially harmful to kids. I believe it is not allowed in some states for that very reason. Milorganite is equivalent and is tested for heavy metals. Just my opinion. That is assuming you need to add iron. Good luck.

Our new redbud tree was planted in the winter and it still has no leaves or blooms as of now, April 22nd. We live in northwest Arkansas and all the other redbuds here have bloomed. Is the tree dead? Or is there a chance it will get leaves later because it's a young tree?

I'd hold out hope til Jun. did you try snapping a small twig to see if it was green?

Scratch the trunk. If it shows green, the tree is alive. Brown, it's dead. And sometimes, newly planted stock just won't break dormancy; then it dies.

Greg I'd give it more time but I wouldn't hold out too much hope at this point.Do the scratch test as lacey advised and if you get green, leave the tree alone for a while longer. If your warranty is about to run out on the tree,however, replace it now.

I live in the River Valley and make frequent trips to Fayetteville (I was up there yesterday). Your tree is at least a month behind =/

I'm I I 13 onto planted ... I can't expected ! Roots water total erosion