amelanchier lamarckii leaves

Hi all,

If you look at the attached images of leaves on my amelanchier lamarckii, are they cause for concern? Recently bought, repotted in an ever so slightly bigger pot than what it came in with ericaceous compost with John innes and a bit of sand, reasonably sunny spot for most of the day, and not allowed to dry out.

Any advice?

Cheers,

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

I'm afraid I can't really answer the question of what might be causing this, but I wanted to share that my Amelanchier (Canadensis) has a milder case of this. If I'm honest, I am not too keen on the plant in general, it seems to me that Amelanchiers are quite overrated (short seasons of interest, health problems).

I think that I can see a bit of powdery mildew in one of the photos. They are very prone to that, especially when they are not getting enough water. You did say you didn't let the compost dry out, but has it definitely been getting wet below the surface? If the pot is not very big, it is easy to underwater.

Also keep in mind as well that we are not far from the autumn. So, if it is experiencing stress for some reason (e.g. from a recent transplant or if the pot is not quite big enough) it might be entering early dormancy.

 

It probably doesn't like being in a pot.
They are vigorous shrubs and need a LOT of space for the roots.
Could it go in the ground?
Have you fed it whilst in the pot?

Mine (which is in the ground) also has some leaves similar to yours, and does most years by this time.
Mine is about 30yrs old and about 15ft tall.
Mine is also in part of the garden where I have verticillium wilt, so it may have that too..

I agree with @CostasK that stress is contributing to the problem.

 

Where are you @MWSmudge ? It's not unusual for trees to start getting autumnal up here at this time of year, especially if you're north of me, but anything in a pot will start to change earlier than it woul din the ground.

They grow very well, and happily up here, as our climate suits them, and we don't get any problems with mildew etc, so it may simply be that it's not ideal for your conditions. However, I wouldn't be overly worried at this stage, as it'll be going into autumn conditions now, or soon, but it would be better in the ground and it's a good time of year to do that. The usual things to keep it happy - decent soil, a good site, and a well prepped hole dug for it. They don't need loads of sun, and are quite happy with some shade, but make sure it has some room to establish.
Once it's done that, it won't mind having other planting nearby, as long as it doesn't get too dry.

 

Lots of trees around here are showing similar signs and many are far more bare/suffering because we haven't had anything more than a few spits of rain in a couple of months and it's just bone dry. It can be hard to keep things happy in pots if it's hot/dry/windy, so things do suffer.
I have an amelanchier in a pot, waiting to go in the ground, it's about 5ft high and multistemmed but I've kept it in a shady spot and it's doing ok. If yours is in a bright spot I'd be inclined to move it somewhere a little more sheltered.

 

This is why knowing the location/climate of a poster makes a huge difference to the advice.
Trees/shrubs will shut down earlier, and start turning, due to stress - often caused by hotter, drier conditions, whereas here, autumnal foliage happens earlier simply because it is autumn!

Having said that, foliage generally is only just starting to alter here, and mainly on the earlier trees like horse chestnut. It's been milder and wetter, rather than that cooler, fresher air that we usually have at this time of year though.

 

Hi all,

Many thanks for the replies, non of you seem overly concerned so that's good! Could well of stressed it out just trying to get in in the car! And then by shoehorning it into only a slightly bigger pot!

I've moved it into a much bigger pot now as well as feeding it.

Location is Midlands btw.

Cheers,

Matt

 

Don't feed it @MWSmudge - they don't need it. If you've got it in a bigger pot, the soil mix is plenty. Shrubs and trees just need good soil - they don't need fed unless they're of a type that has specific requirements, but Amelanchiers don't. A bit of mulch every so often when in a container is helpful

It also helps to see the whole tree when you post a pic, because just showing a few bits of foliage doesn't always paint the full picture. I should have said that earlier! If there's nothing else wrong with it, it should be fine though. Your location will suit it well enough, as I doubt you get any serious spells of drought there. In a container, it's reliant on you though.
It's possibly just had a bit of weather damage too, and young trees are always a bit more susceptible to that. A sheltered site out of any strong sun is ideal, especially if you're keeping it in a pot for a while longer, but it'll really need planted out next year - early spring is ideal if you're not doing it through autumn.