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Shropshire, United Kingdom

I have a golden delicious apple tree about 5 feet high, last year I replanted it as it was in a very shady spot ,It looked fine throughout the summer but towards the end of July the leaves started to look very dry and brittle it has been well watered and is planted up against my house wall. The leaves have not fallen but remain a dull green and look very dry, It has not fruited this year due to repositioning , I welcome all advice and thank you in anticipation




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A number of factors can cause leaf wilt. If feasible, snip off a small branch tip with leaves intact & bring it into a noteworthy garden center for one of the experts to exam & recommend a remedy. Some factors include: nutrient/water deficiency due to drought or injury suffered during transplant, blight, infestation of some kind.

28 Oct, 2018

 

I think the fact it is replanted and we have had one of the driest hottest summers on record are major reasons for it struggling. You probably haven't given it enough water. when you say next to the house how close and is it your plan to train it against the wall as an espalier?

28 Oct, 2018

 

That's a good point! Transplanting should only be done in early Spring, before it leafs out, or Autumn around now while it's going to sleep; never during active growth.

28 Oct, 2018

 

You say that you have planted it against the house wall. There in lies the problem. Yes, we have had a very dry summer but the foundations of your house will keep sucking the moisture out of the soil and the roots will suffer. I would suggest that you wait until the dormant period and move it elsewhere to preferably a sunny spot.

28 Oct, 2018

 

Seems likely to be a root problem? A 5 foot tree would have a good root spread?
In moving it you may have chopped off some roots. Then if you dug a new hole near a wall where there may be drainage problems & you then put the roots into a smaller hole than it got used to you've both given it a bonsai treatment & created a bucket effect in the soil that keeps too much water around the roots.
Check for mould low on the trunk, get a garden fork stuck into the ground & loosen the soil up to two or three feet out from the hole & consider buying some mycorhizal fungi to assist new root growth.
Also never re-plant a fruit tree on dwarf rooting stock lower than the graft.
Having said all that, if you make sure it's well drained & not watered until late June it'll probably come good, maybe a balanced feed mid April?

28 Oct, 2018

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