Based on this short article, I'm going to guess it's either waterlogged or not getting enough potassium. It is pretty dense soil and I haven't checked the pH recently (though I should--also have blueberries growing nearby).
I hope you'll get much better comments but so far there's nothing so to fill the void:
I kept alive a scrawny apple tree in a large pot on my apartment balcony for 20 years, because it grew from a Gala apple seed planted by my daughter in preschool. (Obviously it didn't make Gala apples, but it made some pretty flowers and tiny crabapples that were sweeter than you'd expect.)
I learned that apple trees are prone to fungus and really like good drainage. If I were doing it again I'd use something lighter than potting soil, like Orchid or even Desert Mix. Not sure how that translates to in-the-ground gardening but I do think you're right about it being waterlogged. I'm sure you could dig in something around it to let more dry air into the soil and let excess water drain.
I have a blueberry bush too, and it's much hardier.
7 Comments
Drusas@kbin.run · 15 pts · 2y
Based on this short article, I'm going to guess it's either waterlogged or not getting enough potassium. It is pretty dense soil and I haven't checked the pH recently (though I should--also have blueberries growing nearby).
https://horticulture.co.uk/apple-tree/brown-leaves/
Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net · 3 pts · 2y
I think it looks like phosphorus defficiency
Drusas@kbin.run · 1 pts · 2y
Thank you, I'll look into that.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 15 pts · 2y
I hope you'll get much better comments but so far there's nothing so to fill the void:
I kept alive a scrawny apple tree in a large pot on my apartment balcony for 20 years, because it grew from a Gala apple seed planted by my daughter in preschool. (Obviously it didn't make Gala apples, but it made some pretty flowers and tiny crabapples that were sweeter than you'd expect.)
I learned that apple trees are prone to fungus and really like good drainage. If I were doing it again I'd use something lighter than potting soil, like Orchid or even Desert Mix. Not sure how that translates to in-the-ground gardening but I do think you're right about it being waterlogged. I'm sure you could dig in something around it to let more dry air into the soil and let excess water drain.
I have a blueberry bush too, and it's much hardier.
Drusas@kbin.run · 4 pts · 2y
Thank you, that is helpful. I can try to amend the soil or perhaps even relocate the tree.
The_v@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 2y
Lookup fire blight.
Drusas@kbin.run · 1 pts · 2y
Thanks, I will do so.