Often when that sort of wilting happens rapidly and all at once on a susceptible species, it can be an indication of Verticilium wilt. Has the tree experienced any unusual stress or any damage in the root zone?

None that I can think of. We had extremely hot temperatures for about two weeks but nothing that it has not been through before. It’s in an area where there’s no foot traffic or anything.

I lost my Forest Pansy to verticillium wilt. = ( Apparently it's a common problem.

Thank you for this information. It sounds like I can prepare for a new tree in the spring. Not ideal… But always a chance to find something new :-) I hope to find something that has as nice of a canopy but is still hospitable to grow a Hostas under.

• If the tree dies and/or is removed, replace it with a nonsusceptible host such as any conifer, birch, dogwood, or sycamore.

https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/redbud-cercis-spp-verticillium-wilt

There are actually a good many VW resistant trees available. One that would resemble a redbud in size and canopy spread and density would be a flowering crabapple.

I do like crab apples but the issue with them is that they suck the life out of everything beneath them. I need to find some thing that is Hosta hospitable. LOL

with months of ridiculous heat and drought ... as i drive the byways ... i noticed yesterday.. the corn looks like manure.. the soybeans are already yellowing which seems early ... and some of the uglier trees are already turning.. mostly brown.. lol .. and getting ready to shed leaves ...

do you see the same in your area ...

its just been a bad year ... which happens cyclically ...

one would expect it wouldnt happen in your garden.. that you gave everything a bit more care than ma nature ...

but im not sure i would jump to the other suggested conclusions ...

is the canopy as close to the power lines as they look .. or is that a camera trick???

ken

It is close to the lines but not in them. Still a few feet out. if it were to live, i anticipate it would've been given a non-requested haircut by the power company eventually lol The lines you can see are cable, phone and something else....I think power is still up higher at the top of the pole.

I thought initially maybe it was just decline from wacky weather but it's the only tree that looks like this. I think i'll be hearing taps playing.

I think on to a dogwood of some sort...some interesting kousa

I live in the Indianapolis area as well. Other than about a 4 week spell from late June towards the end of July, it's been a fairly mild summer with normal rainfall. I too have a redbud, and they do tend to show fatigue by this time of year...especially ones in an open setting. Whether it's VW or some other issue...that doesn't look right for redbuds around here. It does give the appearance that large portions are dying off. I'd monitor those sections through the fall by doing the scratch test...scraping back small pieces of bark and checking for green. If it is indeed dying, you have the winter to remove it and plan for an early spring planting.

Thank you, Joe! I think it's definitely curtains but the scratch test certainly could tell the tale. The native cercis around it look normal.

Upon reflection to the tree that was in the area previous, I think the pathogen has been in the soil for some time now. There was a HUGE nasty ol' boxelder that used to be sited around 6 feet away and it "mysteriously" was dying off in huge swaths. Makes sense now.

Trying to look at it as an opportunity to try something new. It was such a perfect canopy......of course.

"I do like crab apples but the issue with them is that they suck the life out of everything beneath them. "

Really? I have never found that to be the case. In fact,I find flowering crabs one of the easier small trees to underplant.....with just about anything! They are not all particularly water hungry. And if you do a search under Google images, you can find a number of examples of crabs underplanted with hostaa.

Interesting. We can't even keep grass under the 3 crabs we have in the front yard.

I'll have to research. Thank you.

Well… It’s because there’s a silver maple in the proximity of the crabapple trees. Mystery solved. LOL

I found a very nice royal raindrops crabapple tree at the nursery today. My only concern: there is a winter king Hawthorne about 10 feet away that has cedar apple rust. I know that this variety of Crabapple has excellent disease resistance but is that just asking for disaster?

The only other option at the nursery that is in the correct size for the powerlines is a Nannyberry viburnum in tree form. Not quite as excited about that but it’s a thought…?

You should be okay. It is highly resistant to cedar-apple rust.

Awesome! I'm excited! Thank you for leading me in this direction. It's a beautiful purple leaved alternative with far more redeeming qualities than the FP.