Hackberry Problem

[rd113]

Hello.
I've had this Hackberry for two years and decided to repot it in Feb. It was left outside during our mild winter and lost it's first flush of leaves during a late frost. All of the leaves reappeared in March. Unfortunately it now looks as if the leaves are wilting and dying. The tree is watered daily and gets between 4-6 hrs of morning sunlight. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

When a tree kills its foliage but keeps it green, it usually points in the direction of root issues.
Over watering could be something to consider as a cause.

 

[JudyB]

Was the tree protected in any way after you repotted in Feb? Not knowing where you live, if you had cold weather and freezing temps after you repotted, it likely doesn't have enough roots to support the amount of foliage it's trying to grow, as it didn't grow new roots to replace the ones you took off during the repot. You should always wait till the tree is starting to swell it's buds to repot and then you should protect from frosts after that. Hackberry are pretty hardy plants, but they do tend to loose fine branching in the winter. But this one looks like it is struggling.

 

[rd113]

Thanks for responding!
I live in South Carolina and our winters are pretty mild. I would have thought that the leaves would turn yellow due to over watering. I will reduce watering and may put it back into the shade. Our temperatures are starting to increase into the 90s now.

 

[Forsoothe!]

Just one more reason why I do repots after a tree matures its first flush of leaves. Mid-June for me. The energy to re-grow new roots is provided by the leaves. I try to keep my mouth shut when ~standard~ advice is given to repot when the buds are swelling, etc., etc., but there's no accounting for weather and other unpredictable bad luck and I try to minimize my exposure.

 

[Dav4]

Fwiw, I have a NC collected sugarberry that did this to me after it's first re-pot in my care several years ago.... https://www.bonsainut.com/threads/southern-hackberry-project.26898/. Never figured out why, but it's fine now and growing wildly DESPITE having been re-potted as buds pushed 3 of the last 4 seasons . Anyway, let's see a picture of the entire tree and pot, as well as the soil. Personally, my tree seems to thrive in less then ideal soil but it's worth seeing for the sake of discussion.

 

[rd113]

Ok - thanks!
Here are some additional pics.
I placed it into direct sun yesterday, however I believe that was a mistake. I think I will place it back into morning sun only now for the time being. Question-Dav4, what did you do to revive your sugarberry to bring it back to life?
Any benefit of adding superthrive to daily watering?

 

[bwaynef]

Morning sun sounds like a good idea. Further, afternoon bright-shade sounds like a better idea. Also, watch the watering as it's probably using less water now. With that out of the way, did you know Ron Martin? He lived in Summerville and owned/ran Tokanome Bonsai.

 

[BonsaiMatt]

Soil mix looks very dry, sure it didn't dry out?

I'd add some chopped moss to the surface to keep the top layer of soil moist between waterings.

 

[rd113]

Hello bwaynef. Yes is knew Ron. Ron was right around the corner from me. I actually purchased by first tree (brt) from Ron -Super nice guy!

Hello BonsiaMatt. No I water religiously. The pic was taken before I watered for the day. The soil drains immediately. I'm actually still not sure if the tree is getting too much water or not enough. However, either way it's in the shade for now.

Thanks for the responses!

 

[HoneyHornet]

Did this beautiful tree ever recover

 

[rd113]

No, unfortunately not.
I contribute it to a too early repotting.