Problem with recenty-planted Brandywine Crabapple Tree

Question: Two years ago we paid $1000 to have a Brandywine crabapple tree planted in our front yard. Within the first few months, some of the tree's branches developed yellow leaves and then died. I cut off the dead branches and the tree seemed to survive but did not exhibit any new growth. For the next two springs, the tree initially seemed healthy and produced a lot of flowers. However, each year, once the flowers were gone, the tree immediately started developing yellow leaves and dying branches and showed little sign of any new growth. This same phenomenon is happening again this year. And while the tree is not totally dead, more branches are being removed each year with little to no growth coming to replace them. So the tree's days seem numbered. 

Do you have any idea of what the problem might be with this tree?  Is there any hope for it? I have attached a few pictures of the tree in its current state. Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks,

John C.

responder: Arapahoe County Extension  Replied June 05, 2023, 3:49 PM EDT
response: Thank you for reaching out to the Extension office. Your pictures are very helpful. We have some suggestions and a few more questions as well. First what we have noticed from your pictures. 1. Are these pictures from last year? We have noticed the crabapples on the tree. 2. There appears to be discoloration at the base of the trunk. Is this wet? Soft?  3. How often is the tree watered? How deep is the mulch?  4. Gently pull the mulch back from the tree trunk. Can you see the flare outward to the soil? If so, the mulch would be better to be moved back toward the drip line of the tree. Are the roots surface and appear to be circling the tree or extending outward? 5. CSU recommends that tree supports be removed after one year. The cells in the tree will mature and give natural stability to the tree. 6. We have noticed quite a few scars on the trunk extending up the tree. Is this possibly hail damage from previous years or other injury you are aware of? Or were they present when the tree was purchased? 7. What is the sun exposure to this tree? Wind? 8. What is on the other side of this tree? In the foreground. Is there unobstructed turf/lawn? 9. Did you winter water the tree? Was there snow and/or ice pack at the base of the tree? 10. Is there landscape fabric under the mulch? This is quite a number of questions but your answers will help us figure out what is going on with the tree.  We will look forward to your reply!  Thank you, Ellen Barry and Courtney Cahill Arapahoe County Master Gardeners

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 07, 2023, 11:22 PM EDT
response: Dear Ellen and Courtney, Thanks for the quick reply to my inquiry. Below I have provided answers to your questions. Please let me know if you need anything more.1. Are these pictures from last year? We have noticed the crabapples on the tree.    No. The pictures are current. They were taken on the same day that I sent the inquiry email. So far, each spring the tree has developed leaves and flowers and looks healthy. But once the flowers die, the yellow leaves start to appear and branches start dying off.2. There appears to be discoloration at the base of the trunk. Is this wet? Soft? There is a story behind that discoloration. I will try to be brief. The tree was planted by the nursery that sold us the tree. They did not provide any mulch so we added some mulch a couple weeks later. The mulch was probably about 1 - 2 inches deep. I specifically tried to keep all the mulch about 4 inches away from the base  of the tree. Over time, some of it settled back around the base but it was very shallow (1/2 inch or less). The tree was left this way from  June of 2021 until February of this year.Early this year, as my concern about the tree increased, I started reading things online and found the info about the flare at the base of the tree needing to be at or slightly above ground level. So in late February I took a close look at the base and did not see a flare. I started to dig down until I found the place where the base seemed to be flaring out. I then removed all mulch and dirt down to that level in a 4 foot circle around the tree. I  replaced a thin layer of mulch (~1 inch) around the perimeter of the tree trying to keep most of it away from the base.The bottom line is that the discoloration you are referring to shows the level to which the trunk was buried in dirt by the original planters. Note that this part has been UNBURIED since early this year - back when it was still winter, but the discoloration is still there. It doesn't feel particularly wet or soft right now.3. How often is the tree watered? How deep is the mulch? From late spring to early fall the tree was getting a very tiny amount of water on a daily basis from a drip system. That was probably 5 minutes a day at a 4 gph flow rate. Throughout the hot months I would usually give it a good soaking one a week or so. Through the winter, I gave it a moderate watering about once per month if we didn't get any snow/rain that month.As stated above, for most of the time the mulch has been around 2 inches deep and mostly kept away from the base of the tree. Currently it is less than 1 inch deep. The small amounts seen near the base now are just scrap remnants from when I cleared all the dirt away back in February.4. Gently pull the mulch back from the tree trunk. Can you see the flare outward to the soil? If so, the mulch would be better to be moved back toward the drip line of the tree. Are the roots surface and appear to be circling the tree or extending outward?I have pulled the mulch back and taken a picture (see attachment). I can't see a lot of roots but I don't see any circling the tree. To further clarify the situation, I used a hose to blast away some of the dirt around the base to provide a better picture of the root situation (see attachment). 5. CSU recommends that tree supports be removed after one year. The cells in the tree will mature and give natural stability to the tree.Noted. It has been almost 2 years so I will remove the stakes.6. We have noticed quite a few scars on the trunk extending up the tree. Is this possibly hail damage from previous years or other injury you are aware of? Or were they present when the tree was purchased?Unfortunately we did not pay close enough attention to notice whether those scars were present at planting. I am certain that we have not had any hail that was anywhere NEAR big enough to create scars of that size (we have only had a few occurrences of pea-sized hail). I am not aware of anything else physical that would have caused them. 7. What is the sun exposure to this tree? Wind?The tree is planted in front of our house which is facing east. It gets pretty full sun exposure until late afternoon when the house blocks out the late-day sun (6pm?). 8. What is on the other side of this tree? In the foreground. Is there unobstructed turf/lawn?I have attached a photo to provide a clearer picture of the tree's position and surroundings. The other small tree right next to it is a remnant from a different crabapple that was growing in this space many years ago. It sprouted around the time this tree was planted. I've been so concerned about our new tree the whole time that I decided to let it keep growing. This way, if our existing  tree dies I can transplant this remnant as its replacement (at least it has proven that IT can survive there).9. Did you winter water the tree? Was there snow and/or ice pack at the base of the tree?Yes. When we did not get snow for a month or more I would give it a light watering. When there were heavy snows, snow removed from the driveway would get piled up around this tree. It would usually be gone within a week or two. 10. Is there landscape fabric under the mulch?No fabric is underneath.On Mon, Jun 5, 2023 at 1:49 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Arapahoe County Extension  Replied June 08, 2023, 1:20 PM EDT
response: Dear John,  Trees need air (carbon dioxide) to survive as much as they need water. The roots of a tree need to be in the first 12" of the soil (6" for some trees like maples).   It seems that this tree is struggling for air. It was really good that you removed the mulch and dug down a bit. (But this diagnosis is only an educated guess from photos and details you have provided.)  Do you remember how deep the roots were planted? Generally we tell people that the tree needs to be planted on a donut shaped hole, with a mound in the center. The root ball sits on top of the mound, while the roots are draped into the dug out, outer circle. The root ball is supposed to stick out of the ground slightly.  I am going to see if I can find information on how to remedy girdled roots in a young tree. Roots are a big deal. A majority of issues with trees are root related.   You said the tree was planted two years ago. Was this spring of 2021?   Best regards,  Brenda Francis  (There are different Master Gardener volunteers in the office every day. We all work with the same email inbox and have very similar training.)

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 08, 2023, 3:56 PM EDT
response: It was planted in June of 2021.So are you able to rule out disease/fungus as the issue?On Thu, Jun 8, 2023, 11:20 AM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Arapahoe County Extension  Replied June 08, 2023, 3:59 PM EDT
response: Hi John,  We have a team of diagnosticians coming in on Monday. I will defer to them at this time.  If a tree is stressed from its root system being buried too deep it will eventually have other issues.   Best regards, Brenda

responder: The Question Asker Replied June 08, 2023, 4:10 PM EDT
response: Ok. Thanks.Do you think we would have any recourse to the company that sold us the tree?On Thu, Jun 8, 2023, 1:59 PM Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:

responder: Arapahoe County Extension  Replied June 12, 2023, 3:49 PM EDT
response: Hi John, Thank you for your responses and sending more pictures.   It seems from your latest pictures that there might not be enough room for the roots at tree maturity because of the retaining wall, sidewalks and driveway.  Root problems can cause the chlorosis issues that you see with the leaves including sparse leafing out and early leaf drop.   Crabapples are generally drought tolerant and you may be overwatering which can also cause chlorosis in the leaves.   The fact that the tree was planted so deep could have affected the ability of the tree to pull up oxygen from the soil.   Some of the blackened branches/twigs could be due to fire blight but we cannot say for sure.  The "extra" tree that is coming up from roots will probably not be true to form since crabapple trees are bud grafted and these are coming up from the roots below any graft.   It also appears from this last round of pictures that there is some damage to the base of the tree trunk which could possibly be causing some of the problems with the tree.   In conclusion, there appears to be a number of issues that are stressing the tree.  The symptoms of chlorosis, sparse leaf growth, early leaf drop, dying branches are all indications of stress.   We cannot advise you about contacting the nursery that planted the tree.  You will have to make that decision.