Sorbus/Rowan/Mountain Ash: Is this leaf colour normal?

Hi,

I have a Sorbus Aucuparia 'Apricot Queen', that I got a few months ago. I have been watering it frequently (though not huge quantifies as it doesn't like to be waterlogged) and giving it a bit of organic plant food as well. It is right next to a climbing rose, that I sometimes give a solution of sequestered iron to.

Recently some of the leaves acquired the colouration that you can see in the attached photos. I'm almost certain that this is a stupid question but... is this just a normal stage that new leaves go through before they become fully green?

Or have I overfertilised? Could it be a sign of stress? (Though based on photos online it doesn't look like the colour the leaves get when they go into dormancy).

Thank you.

 

Your tree looks very close to your fence so it will be in a rain shadow and therefore more reliant on you for watering. Young trees need a lot of water to enable their roots to establish well and support the leaves above. If there is not enough water, the tree will selectively shed leaves to reduce the demand for water. I suspect that you need to be more generous with your watering. A good long soak every 3 days or so over summer is better to encourage the roots to grow deeply rather than more frequent shallow watering which will encourage the roots to remain near the soil surface. If your soil is of good quality and well draining there should be no risk of waterlogging. Try extra watering over the summer to see if it improves. There is no need to feed your tree if your soil was prepared well before planting by incorporating plenty of organic matter.

 

Thank you very much, I will be watering it more thoroughly

 

I agree - it's far more likely to be too dry than too wet. Proper watering every three or four days is the way to get any tree established, and get it's roots down. The fact you have a nearby rose means the ground will be drier than you might realise, especially as all the foliage on plants will tend to prevent rain getting in - even if it's decent rain. There looks like a Miscanthus or similar nearby too, so these large plants are all soaking up moisture. It's a big specimen to get established over summer, so that also makes it harder.

They don't need food of any kind if the soil's suitable. It's the wet stuff they need. They'll grow on very little soil, and in quite poor sites, if they have plenty of rain

 

Thank you! I gave it a really deep watering this morning and will keep this up. There was no water logging so I was wrong to be concerned about that.

I planted the tree in March but of course it's not established yet. You are right about the climbing rose, which is very vigorous - I thought I was watering both adequately, but apparently not. I do tend to overestimate how much water shrubs need and underestimate how much water trees need...

The plant on the right is actually a bamboo but it's in a container. Having said that, it is indeed a busy border (there are plants that you can't see in front of the tree as well, in the ground). That was part of my thinking about feeding with organic plant food, though as you say that might not be necessary.

 

[QUOTE="CostasK, post: 1495151, member: 35916" Having said that, it is indeed a busy border (there are plants that you can't see in front of the tree as well, in the ground). That was part of my thinking about feeding with organic plant food, though as you say that might not be necessary.[/QUOTE]

Your tree will do better without surrounding competition @CostasK so if you can relocate some of them, it will stand a better chance of establishing well. Good to know that you haven't flooded your garden .

 

Hi. I was wondering if I could pick your brains again

I have been watering the tree much more deeply and frequently and now I am considering the other suggestion of making the area less congested.

Specifically, I am wondering about the climbing rose I have to the left, which is quite vigorous (it doesn't look it at the moment because I gave it a good prune). The distance between the rose and the tree is about one foot. The tree does have good clearance on the right - one of the reasons I had put the other rose on the right in a pot, was to allow the roots of the tree to stretch within the ground.

Should I replace the climbing rose on the left with a smaller less vigorous plant e.g. a small clematis? (I would still want to have something considering it's on one side of a metal arch). Or am I overthinking it and just being on top of watering will suffice?

Thank you.

 

It looks less congested in that photo @CostasK, I think the existing planting is fine and wouldn’t move the rose. The extra watering will help your tree get established, all the other plants will benefit too!

 

Great, thank you @Plantminded

 

We had a different tree (Lilac) planted in 2021. I had water bottles to the left and right of the tree roots, which made it easy to see when the ground was soaked.
When the drought plagued us from Winter 2021/2022, I had to water the tree 3 times a week, and it took around 20 minutes or 500 l at least to see that the ground had enough water. The one or other time, I thought that I probably water the entire underground just through these 2 bottles. However, that was at a time when the ground was dried out several meters deep.
Thanks goodness, that stopped when rain turned in in September 2022.

Your tree says "Soil: Moist well drained soils". I wouldn't worry about too much water. From what I see in your pictures, you don't seem to be in an area surround by underground concrete buildings when too much water can be a problem.

 

The ground will be better now, and once you're into autumn/winter, the rowan will be well established.
As you're in the Durham area, the conditions should be fine for your planting, so I'd agree that it probably isn't necessary to start moving anything, but if you can keep the soil in good health by mulching regularly, that will benefit everything, and will help to avoid constantly watering in drier months.
You'll just have to keep an eye on everything though, because there's no doubt that many areas are having quite mixed weather, which means some plants are doing better than others. If things deteriorate, you may have to rethink the planting, but give it till next summer, and see how it's all going.
Gardening is always a challenge, regardless of the conditions and climate. It's never just about one thing in isolation - it's the combination of various factors, and the length of time each situation lasts, whether it's temps, the amount of sun/rain, soil type, exposure or anything else.

 

Thanks both.

@simone_in_wiltshire wow, that is a lot! To be fair I leave the water running for about the same time or more now, but I have it on lower pressure so won't be as many litres. I think part of the problem was that I would water with high water pressure, I would see a lot of water accumulating at the surface after 3-4 mins and think that's enough.

@fairygirl you are so right! I will definitely keep an eye on things. To be honest I have mixed feelings about that particular rose, it's my only David Austin one that I don't outright love. On the other hand I don't have a spot to move it to, and I feel bad about killing a very healthy vigorous rose. It lives to see another day.. For now at least

 

That was during the drought. I believe all trees around us survived from my water