Hokaido Elm

When do hokaido elms typically loose their leaves? I have one on my rooftop in San Francisco, and left for vacation with it looking very healthy. A long/heavy rain, and a few waterings by my girlfriend, I come back two weeks later and all the leaves are dry as can be brushed off. I brushed most of the leaves off as they all looked dead, and thought that maybe it has lost it's leaves for the season too early. How can you tell if the tree is a goner? I'm worried sick about it, and want to rejuvenate it, but feel the end is upon me. Help!

-John

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Tony

That's a chinese elm cultivar. *In colder climates they lose their leaves in fall. In SF they would probably keep a few leaves over winter until the new buds come in spring. At any rate, this is not the right time for them to lose all the leaves. Most likely it's a watering problem, *either it was allowed to dry out completely or it's been wet over a long period of time and the roots are starting to rot. Other things, like pests and disease can cause sudden leaf drop too but my first guess is a watering problem.

If the roots are still alive it should put out new buds. Try scratching a little bark off the trunk. *If it is green and moist underneath, the trunk is still alive [up to that point] You can work your way higher and check the upper branches the same way. They are tough trees and can take a fair amount of abuse and live through the ordeal.

Tony

John_Morrow

Thanks for the encouragement! I scratched a bit of the bark, and it's a bright green just slightly underneath, even at the top of the main branches. So that's a relief. Also, should I cut back the fine branches that used to have the leaves on them to promote growth? They seem to be very brittle at the tips (snap off very easily). Thanks!