bramley apple trouble

[hamster]

Can anyone help? My bramley apple has lost all its flowers and all but a few leaves, they've all gone black and fallen off. The leaves that remain are very tiny and they also are slowly going black. I've had the tree about 18 months. It has grown about 3 inches this year, if you touch one of the leaves gently they just fall off. Is it curtains? It looks like a pole in the ground there is so little growth on it. Any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

[rustylady]

Doesn't sound too good. Is it in a pot or in the ground, and how old is it?

[FB.]

A picture is always useful (a picture speaks a thousand words).

If the remaining living leaves are those at the very top, I'd guess it's a lack of water.

Could it be lack of water?
Have you watered it enough? (It's been a very dry year so far)
Is it planted near a wall or roof overhang that prevents rainfall from one or more wind direction?

Too much water? Have you literally drowned the roots, or fed them so much that the nutrients poisoned the roots?

Has the tree suffered bark damage to the trunk?

Weak rootstock for the soil in which it is growing?
What is the rootstock? How good is your soil?

Was it kept in a greenhouse overwinter and not hardened off enough when put outside?

[hamster]

It could be lack of water, I havent gone out of my way to water it. Initially it was in a pot incase of a house move, but now its been put in the garden.
How much water should I be giving it each day, and how long will it take to make a difference, assuming I can turn it around.

The growth is at the very top with a bit of growth on some of the side shoots, and that is at the very top of the shoots.

Yes FB a picture does speak a thousand words, will try and put one on.

[FB.]

If it is lack of water, the tree needs urgent help to survive.
Depending on the rootstock, it may not be able to survive in the longer term (you don't mention rootstock).
The required amount of water for a young tree depends on your location, climate and soil type. But newly-planted trees need good care for the first summer.
The bulk of root growth happens in September-November, during which time the tree transfers all the nutrients and sugars from the falling leaves into the roots, which can then grow rapidly in the warm and moist soil of autumn.
If the tree hasn't had enough water during the summer, it will lose leaves and therefore not have much energy to put into roots in the autumn.

In my area, I need to use half a watering can (3-5 litres) twice a week for the first growing season, followed by half a can of water each week for the second year, followed by half a can every fortnight in the third year - but here it's hot, sunny, low-rainfall, open and windy, and the soil is shallow, with a large amount of fast-draining sand/gravel.
These watering regimes are for very vigorous MM111 or M25 rootstocks. (MM106 medium vigour is marginally able to establish after 3-5 years of TLC) Anything weaker than those rootstocks in my area is a lost cause no matter how much I water it because the ground dries in just a few hours - before the dwarf roots can absorb the water.

I suggest that given the serious situation, if you want to save it, you do the following as soon as possible:

Get a quarter or half-inch diameter stick and hammer it 3-6 inches deep into the ground near the edge of the likely root spread.
Pour half a watering can of water over the area, allowing some to drain down the holes.
Wait a couple of minutes.
Pour another half a can of water.
Go away for a few hours.
Come back later and.....
Pour another half can of water.
Cover the likely root spread area with half-inch to an inch of compost.
Pour another half can of water.

Come back and water again with half a can of water each week, for as long as the drought persists.