Whats wrong with my plum tree?

[said]

Hi,

Im new to the forum, i joined as i can see there is a lot of knowledge here and perhaps someone can help with my question.

I have a plum tree that's 5 years old, i'm unsure what type of plum tree its is exactly.
recently it looks as if its dying! i have attached a photo and hope someone will be able to identify the problem.

Many thanks in advance.

[Linnea]

Hi Said
I can't see very well from the photo it is possible to provide a closer picture. from this distance the yellow/green patches look like lichen which as far as I'm aware don't cause issues (in fact they're usually a sign of good air quality)

can you describe the symptoms and how long they've been occurring? in what way does it look like it's dying? at this time of year Plum trees do look sad, but they perk up once the weather gets better.

You also don't say where you are which may help too

sorry of asking more questions!

[boundtothesoil]

recently it looks as if its dying!

Linnea's right. More info is really needed to make a stab at a diagnosis. Like, when the tree was in leaf
last summer, were many branches dead looking, or just a few twig ends? What colour were the leaves and had they been eaten, or infested by aphids, or were they curled up or wilted? A close up look at the base of the trunk would also be useful- does the bark look healthy right round the tree, or are there lesions and rotting/erupted areas, maybe indicating a serious fungal or bacterial infection that may be killing the entire tree?

If it were mine, and it wasn't actually dead, I'd not do anything drastic until I'd seen the extent of leaf production in the spring. Some of the popular varieties of plums produce blossom by the end of March, even before the leaves have fully expanded, so you don't have to wait too long.

[FB.]

My thoughts as above: its difficult to tell what might be the problem.
What problem do you think you're seeing?
Whereabouts in the UK is the tree?
Which variety is it?
Which rootstock is it on?
What's the soil depth and fertility? Red-ish soils like yours I've generally encountered in the SouthWest UK (Devon?).

All I can make out from the picture, is that it appears to be a dwarf and/or isn't coping very well with the growing conditions. Failure to thrive is common with dwarfs. I can't even grow plums on the "medium vigour" St.Julien A rootstock to more than about 5ft in ten years and neither can quite a few other wannabe-plum-growers in East Anglia.