Poor dead trees

[Sue]

Hi
As a sufferer from heavy clay, digging is impossible for most of the year - either it's too wet or too dry which gives me little opportunity for digging. I had a queue of fruit waiting to be planted and the digging got behind so the plum and apple tree went in too late - end of April. The shoots and where leaves were beginning to unfurl have all gone brown.
Have I killed the poor things permanently or will they grow back next year do you think?
I think we dug them in properly, watered and fed them, staked them etc, the cherry tree which was first in line is growing away like mad so don't think it's that - just timing.
...the guilt...
Sue

[TPeers]

Give it until late spring next year - it may come back later this summer. trees are fairly resilient. Just make sure you keep all of them well watered this year, they need to establish new root systems and grow new tap roots.

It might be an idea to limit the amout of setting fruit on the cherry, the tree should be encoraged to grow roots not fruits this year.

Best of luck

Terry

[Sue]

Terry
That's asking a bit of the impossible, I've been waiting for those cherries for over a year... how many is limiting???

But at least all may not be lost with the other trees, will keep them well-watered, they have a thick mulch down too
Many thanks
best wishes
Sue

[Alice]

New leaves might have got nipped by the cold Sue. If so, new ones will grow back. Wait and see what happens. Good luck.

[TPeers]

Terry
That's asking a bit of the impossible, I've been waiting for those cherries for over a year... how many is limiting???

No more than one per cluster, which will probably leave you one small bowl of cherries if you get to them before the birds! I know it sounds harsh, especially when your mouth is watering at the thought of home grown cherries but it should mean better, more reliable crops in the future.

My trees, which I had in pots for a year, then moved with us when we moved, and are now five years old, are only just developing a sufficient root system to survive modern English summers. They set an excelent crop last year for the first time - I only thined the first year - not that I got more than five or six. I netted the trees but the jays found a way in and stripped them overnight! This year I will be building temporary cages around the trees in the hope of a few cherries for me!

Best of luck,

Terry

[mazel-bee]

If you scratch the stem or a branch with your fingernail quite firmly so you take a slight layer away, if it is green it is still alive, if it dull with no colour it is most likely to be dead.