Quercus shedding leaves already?

[maroun.c]

Got this quercus few months back and it leaved out aggressively in summer and was doing great. I see its leavs getting very dry which I guess is still very early as autumn just started and temp is still at 25-30 degrees Celsius. Can it be shedding leaves already or are these signs of drought ? Its still in nursery soil that stays wet so really doubt its underwatered. I see few buds (visible in closeup shot) but not sure if they will last till next spring to open. Any suggestions?

 

[Potawatomi13]

Was it Summer repotted or dry a couple days.

 

[Shibui]

This is not autumn leaf drop. Not only is it too early but many oaks do not really drop leaves. They stay on the tree for much of winter in mild climates and fall in spring.
Do you know what species this is? The leaves on this one look more like one of the live oaks which means it should be evergreen and not lose leaves even in winter.

Most likely is it has been dry.
Second, in view of your statement that it holds water and you really doubt it has been dry, would be some root problem associated with the soil staying wet for too long. Most oaks are not very tolerant of wet soils.

I see few buds (visible in closeup shot) but not sure if they will last till next spring to open.

Never underestimate the tenacity of trees. They have been surviving here for millions of years despite climate change, meteors, dinosaurs, wars and industrial pollution. Provided the case of the problem does not persist it will last through to spring and may even sprout sooner.

 

[maroun.c]

Was it Summer repotted or dry a couple days.

It was slip potted by seller in winter before I bought it. U can see the old round soil mass. They moved it to a very big bonsai soil without disturbing roots as they said.

 

[maroun.c]

This is not autumn leaf drop. Not only is it too early but many oaks do not really drop leaves. They stay on the tree for much of winter in mild climates and fall in spring.
Do you know what species this is? The leaves on this one look more like one of the live oaks which means it should be evergreen and not lose leaves even in winter.

Most likely is it has been dry.
Second, in view of your statement that it holds water and you really doubt it has been dry, would be some root problem associated with the soil staying wet for too long. Most oaks are not very tolerant of wet soils.


Never underestimate the tenacity of trees. They have been surviving here for millions of years despite climate change, meteors, dinosaurs, wars and industrial pollution. Provided the case of the problem does not persist it will last through to spring and may even sprout sooner.

Indeed it had leaves last winter when I bought it and they lasted through till summer when many new leaves opened up. I skip watering sometimes for a day, not sure if that would be enough to cause it to go dry. Just hoping it'll come back next year

 

[Tieball]

When wondering similarly, I usually prune off a couple of small odd location branches and take apart the bud areas to see if the buds are alive and green or if the buds are turning brown and dry. You might try this to examine what’s going on with the tree. Other than doing something like this, just treat the tree as if it’s going into your winter dormancy. The roots would need some moisture but not so much that the roots a soggy soil mix (it looks like you have a mostly clay-like soil mixture). You’ll know what happens when your growing season arrives.

 

[maroun.c]

Thanks for all the info. Was planning to repot out of the clay soil in feb guess this will delay repot by one more season if tree stays alive.
Should I remove all the dry leaves ?

 

[rockm]

As said, that isn't fall leaf drop. That is some kind of shock. If those green leaves on the soil surface are new shoots, the tree could be dead down to the roots...I'd try to tip the tree root mass up out of the pot to see what's going on.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

It was slip potted by seller in winter before I bought it. U can see the old round soil mass. They moved it to a very big bonsai soil without disturbing roots as they said.

That was slip potted too early. And badly. Oak roots need work with a repot. Gentle, but still work.
They are very sensitive to root work but that one looks like done wrong season and wrong method.

 

[maroun.c]

As said, that isn't fall leaf drop. That is some kind of shock. If those green leaves on the soil surface are new shoots, the tree could be dead down to the roots...I'd try to tip the tree root mass up out of the pot to see what's going on.

Yes the leaves on the soil are new shoots but they are dry as well. Can u please elaborate on the tree being dead to the roots?

 

[maroun.c]

That was slip potted too early. And badly. Oak roots need work with a repot. Gentle, but still work.
They are very sensitive to root work but that one looks like done wrong season and wrong method.

Believe he did it end of last winter and tree did push leaves last summer shouldn't that be a sign that the tree wasn't affected by the last repot he did ?

 

[rockm]

Yes the leaves on the soil are new shoots but they are dry as well. Can u please elaborate on the tree being dead to the roots?

The entire top portion of the tree, from the crown to the top of the root base (Nebari) could be dead. I would do a "scratch test" of the trunk to see if it's still green. With your finger nail, scratch deep into the bark. If there is green tissue underneath the scratch, the trunk is alive. If its brown it's dead.

 

[maroun.c]

Its unfortunately all brown.

 

[rockm]

Its unfortunately all brown.

Make sure you scratch deep enough--cut into the bark down to interior wood...

 

[Wulfskaar]

It looks like a live oak. Here in California, it's common to collect/repot in late fall or early winter, so I don't see a big problem with repotting in winter.

However, the last one of my coast live oaks that looked just like that died. Hopefully you can save it.

 

[maroun.c]

Make sure you scratch deep enough--cut into the bark down to interior wood...

Trued multiple locations all the same

 

[maroun.c]

It looks like a live oak. Here in California, it's common to collect/repot in late fall or early winter, so I don't see a big problem with repotting in winter.

However, the last one of my coast live oaks that looked just like that died. Hopefully you can save it.

Our winter isn't that cold and most people repot around end of jan/feb were temp is about 10 degrees Celsius except stormy days where temp can drop to 3-5 degrees Celsius.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

It looks like a live oak. Here in California, it's common to collect/repot in late fall or early winter, so I don't see a big problem with repotting in winter.

However, the last one of my coast live oaks that looked just like that died. Hopefully you can save it.

It was a SLIP pot. And done by someone other than the poster.
Trees don't like being pulled in toto from their soil and then packed into strange media with no existing root consideration .

 

[rockm]

Trued multiple locations all the same
View attachment 399652

Unfortunately, I don't think winter had anything to do with this. I suspect it was bad soil and a bad repot.

The soil looks very muddy/silted in. That can lead to over and under watering problems. That kind of soil holds too much water and when allowed to dry out, becomes like cement--impossible to resaturate without physically breaking it up. That situation probably rotted the roots. or at least stressed them out initially. The slip pot didn't help, unless the repotter loosened the root mass and worked those living roots ends into the new soil. Roots have a lot of problems crossing between different soil types. They tend to just circle around (or try to) in the old soil...This looks to be a Holly Oak (quercus ilex, aka Holm oak)?

 

[Wulfskaar]

Our winter isn't that cold and most people repot around end of jan/feb were temp is about 10 degrees Celsius except stormy days where temp can drop to 3-5 degrees Celsius.

Our winters are very mild too. That's why they say to repot live oaks in fall or early winter when the trees are dormant.

I suspect it was due to something else with the soil and water, as the other commenters are also suggesting. Sorry man, but I think the tree might be a goner. Hopefully you can find another one with better soil. Once you have soil that drains the water as you're watering, then you can water daily.