I have a tree that drops its leaves every year at this time.

[charnich]

Hi, I bought this property 2 years ago and have this tree that is beautiful in the spring but then gets some sort of leaf spots and drops its leaves every year at this time. The neighbors stated that it has been doing this for many years. I would like to diagnose it and treat it. I realize that it may not respond to treatment at this time of year but if I could get something on it as a preventive for next year I'm hoping it may help. The neighbor stated its a Japanese Maple but when I google that it doesn't really look the same. I don't know what it is but in the spring it blossoms with these beautiful purple-ish flowers. I'm attaching photos of leaves at different stages of this progression. All of these pictures were taken today. Thank you in advance for any advice you may offer!

 

[arathol]

Ornamental crab apple of some sort maybe? I have one thats quite similar. It does exactly the same thing every year, and has done it for 14 years now.

 

[Del_]

There are resistant cultivars but that doesn't help you.

It is expensive and chemical intensive to treat it and the trees do fine without treatment but it does set them back a little.

 

[Ax-man]

If it is a crabapple most likely your tree has apple scab . Some species are more resistant than others. It is basically a disease of the leaves and buds and fruit in regular apple trees that starts in very early spring and culminates in June or July depending on weather conditions . It is more unsightly than it is harmful to a tree . It can be sprayed for but it really isn't worth the effort because you have to start before the leaves start to bud and then pretty much have to respray after a rain or damp periods till weather conditions are more favorable for dry periods as the growing season progresses. I am not up on this but there is a new product on the market or was that cut down the number of times you would have to respray the tree. I don't think it is a one time cure all type application but I could be wrong . There are some savvy arborists here that can answer this better than I can . I am out of date so to speak and just trying to help a little.

 

[charnich]

If it is a crabapple most likely your tree has apple scab . Some species are more resistant than others. It is basically a disease of the leaves and buds and fruit in regular apple trees that starts in very early spring and culminates in June or July depending on weather conditions . It is more unsightly than it is harmful to a tree . It can be sprayed for but it really isn't worth the effort because you have to start before the leaves start to bud and then pretty much have to respray after a rain or damp periods till weather conditions are more favorable for dry periods as the growing season progresses. I am not up on this but there is a new product on the market or was that cut down the number of times you would have to respray the tree. I don't think it is a one time cure all type application but I could be wrong . There are some savvy arborists here that can answer this better than I can . I am out of date so to speak and just trying to help a little.

OK, thank you for your input. BTW I don't "think" its a crab apple tree because it doesn't produce any fruit, of course maybe that's because it drops leaves too soon??? I really don't know. I wouldn't mind repeatedly spraying if I could save the leaves. Its a beautiful tree til the leaves fall off.

 

[Woodanhor]

OK, thank you for your input. BTW I don't "think" its a crab apple tree because it doesn't produce any fruit, of course maybe that's because it drops leaves too soon??? I really don't know. I wouldn't mind repeatedly spraying if I could save the leaves. Its a beautiful tree til the leaves fall off.

It could be a flowering crab apple
Are you sure the flowers were purple ?

My first thought was cedar apple rust but could be scab like above poster mentioned

 

[charnich]

It could be a flowering crab apple
Are you sure the flowers were purple ?

My first thought was cedar apple rust but could be scab like above poster mentioned

Hi, I asked my other family members what color the flowers were and one said they were "reddish" and the other one said "deep pinkish" Thanks!

 

[Woodanhor]

Hi, I asked my other family members what color the flowers were and one said they were "reddish" and the other one said "deep pinkish" Thanks!

There's many varieties of flowering crab apples google some pictures
Since you said pink look at kanzan cherry too that would be a different disease

 

[arathol]

Look up Malus Prairifire. Chances are its quite similar to what you have. If it has a lot of flowers it probably has at least some fruit. The fruit is tiny, maybe 1/2" or less.

 

[charnich]

So I know its not a kanzan cherry. Looking at google it seems like the flows are similar to a Malus, but its done flowering now and I'm going off of memory (haha). I'm not sure if there are very small fruits that come in or not but I think it could be a flowering crab apple. Too bad I didn't take a photo when it was in bloom. Are there any other ways to identify it without the flower? Thanks

 

[ATH]

+1 to apple scab.

Usually 3 sprays per year will keep it in order. Maybe not 100% control, but much better than what you are seeing.

Reliant bark sprays have had mixed results, but there are reports of it working. I've got a client with 40 trees that let me try it on 6 while the others get foliar spray. In 2018, it seemed to do OK. Not so much last year. We'll check on it in a few weeks to see how they look this year and either stay the course or go to all traditional foliar sprays if it doesn't look good.

Reliant does work as a foliar spray, but might not have as long of a residual as others.

Captan is the "normal" treatment. I usually mix that with Eagle when using it.

 

[charnich]

+1 to apple scab.

Usually 3 sprays per year will keep it in order. Maybe not 100% control, but much better than what you are seeing.

Reliant bark sprays have had mixed results, but there are reports of it working. I've got a client with 40 trees that let me try it on 6 while the others get foliar spray. In 2018, it seemed to do OK. Not so much last year. We'll check on it in a few weeks to see how they look this year and either stay the course or go to all traditional foliar sprays if it doesn't look good.

Reliant does work as a foliar spray, but might not have as long of a residual as others.

Captan is the "normal" treatment. I usually mix that with Eagle when using it.

OK Thank you for that good info. I'll look up those products. Also, I stumbled across a picture on the internet that said "frogeye leaf spot" and compared it to my leaf pic. and it looks really similar. I'll attach both and see what you think. If so would those products also work for that? What are the times of year you would apply the treatment? Thanks!

 

[Short timer]

I had the same tree, a crab apple, with the same problem. My solution was a Ms260 with a 16 inch bar. I wasn’t putting up with that ******** every year. I tried sprays for scab, fertilizer, on and on. Dealt with it for about 10 years and had enough of having a ****** looking tree smack dab in the middle of my backyard.

 

[ATH]

OK Thank you for that good info. I'll look up those products. Also, I stumbled across a picture on the internet that said "frogeye leaf spot" and compared it to my leaf pic. and it looks really similar. I'll attach both and see what you think. If so would those products also work for that? What are the times of year you would apply the treatment? Thanks!

Yes...scab, cedar-apple rust, frog eye. You are protecting the leaves from fungal infections as they form.