Poorly Blackthorn?

Wondered if anyone could shed any light on my patio Blackthorn? I bought it last spring and it has thrived. It had grown lots of good healthy leaves this year but in the past couple of weeks they have started shrivelling and turning brown. The pot doesn't seem too wet or dry and I can't see any obvious signs of pests like aphids. It's also in a fairly sheltered spot. I'm at a bit of a loss so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks in advance.

 

It is ideally grown in moist but well-drained soil and in full sun, which means it needs regular watering. Striking the right balance can be difficult.

If you can't find any pests, it could be suffering from a fungal disease and may be worth removing it from the pot, shaking off the compost/soil and repotting with a sandier soil. I don't know if slugs are partial to blackthorn but they're rather adept at hiding in places you wouldn't think possible. Also, millipedes share the same tendencies. Insecticeds/slug pellets/fungicides may be worth a try if it looks like it's going to die.

If all fails, a hard pruning during the summer when fungus is less active may help remove potentially diseased branches and regenerate fresh, strong foliage.

 

Give the bark a scratch and see if its green underneath.
Got to admit, it looks dead to me from the pics.

Just wondering why you are growing it in a pot on the patio?
To the best of my knowledge its a countryside hedging plant with not much to make it appealing to growing in a pot.

 

Thanks for the replies. I've scratched the bark and it appears to be green underneath? I bought 4 alleged "patio" plants from ebay last year which were apparently perfect for containers! There was the Blackthorn, Cherry, Apple and Hazelnut. I've always wanted to make my own slow gin which is why I bought it. I don't have the room to plant it in the ground unfortunately. I have seen a lot of millipedes recently on my nightly slug patrol though. @Mowerman do they destroy the roots?

 

I'm not sure if millipedes destroy roots but as an amazing coincidence, something has been eating a plant in my house and slugs hiding were under the bottom if a pot inside a bigger pot but were removed a couple of weeks ago.

Put slug pellets in last week and there have been no signs of dead slugs but the leaves were still being eaten, so repotted it on Sunday and found no signs of any slugs, but a millipede hiding at the bottom of the compost. It must have been that has been chomping the outer edges of the Oxalis Triangularis. There appeared to be no damage to the roots whatsoever but the roots are tough and your tree's roots are probably even tougher.

It could be the millipeeds that are decimating your blackthorn's foliage so you will need to spray on some insectide and I recommend maybe trying to repot it in a bigger pot and see what's hiding in the soil at the bottom of the pot. Maybe even remove all the soil it's planted in, shaking it off the roots. Just be careful if re-potting that you ensure the roots are fully covered in soil/compost as any air pockets can allow fungus or diseases to thrive and destroy the roots. I've planted privets hedges where some stubborn roots had to be pruned off to ensure that just soil and no air could be left inside the ground and they've all done well.

Having said the above, your tree will only ever be a bonsai version if planted in a pot as they grow to quite a height in a native environment, so the roots may render it pot-bound and be impossible to shake out all of any nasties hiding inside without seroius puning of the roots, which could have a negative impact on the tree.