Ash tree leaves turning brown

I have some self seeded Ash trees in the garden (I don't think they are Rowan). They are very young, only about 5 foot high.

Yesterday they were fine, leaves coming out etc.

Today the leaves have all turned brown and withered.

Last year I had the bit of garden where they are covered in gravel with a permeable membrane underneath.

Is it lack of water, as it has not rained here for a few weeks? They are right next to a (usually very boggy) field, so I would have thought the roots were OK. There is a willow next to them, also surrounded by gravel, and that is unaffected (so far!).

Is it too much sun?

Will they be OK, or should I remove the gravel/membrane from round their roots?

Any advice would be welcome.

 

Hi Granny Smith

Firstly is it possible for you to post a few photos of the trees and the area in which they stand?

Brown, withered leaves can be symptomatic of a number of physiological problems with the tree; mostly regarding the flow of water and nutrients. It could be, and most probably is, drought, and it shouldn't be assumed that because the tree is next to a boggy area that it is getting its needed water uptake. Boggy, waterlogged areas can often mean that the water is not draining away and it becomes stagnant and anaerobic. Harmful, phytotoxic bacteria then thrive in standing water which the tree then absorbs.

Was the area heavily landscaped or dug over when you had the membrane and gravel put down? Did any excavations take place near the tree itself? The conditions you describe could also be caused by the trees roots being damaged or severed, meaning it is unable to absorb water efficiently.

 

Thanks for the reply.

No landscaping - when I moved in last year I had an old shed removed and these trees had self seeded behind it. The ground where the shed had been was very compacted, so I just put the gravel down to make it look tidier, as I wasn't going to be planting there.

If it is lack of water, will the trees be OK once they get the water they need?

 

If it is water shortage then yes, once they get enough water their condition should improve, unless they enter a permanent wilting state, whereby no amount of water will bring them back. Just one of those things where you'll have to wait and see. If it is drought, of course.

 

Thank you very much, Harmony Arboriculture, for your replies.

I noticed this morning that some similar saplings actually in the field but up against my fence, a few feet away from the trees I have been asking about, have the same leaf thing going on.

So if it is lack of water it doesn't seem connected to the gravelling which was my concern - I didn't choose to have the trees there, but now they are there I want them to thrive!


I could easily remove the gravel and membrane from around the bases of the trees. I assumed because it was permeable that rainwater would penetrate it. Is this the case?

Could you advise me one last time, if you ouldn't mind?

Thanks again.

 

Without seeing the depth of the gravel and the quality of the soil underneath it's hard to say whether removing the gravel and membrane would be of any benefit. I will say that soil compaction is a real problem for trees and tree roots, so trying to keep the soil around tree roots as free from compaction as possible will certainly not do any harm.