Apple Tree with Curly Leaves
Forum Archives
Poppy
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: May-18-2007 at 11:34pm
We inherited 7 espaliered dwarf fuji and gala apple trees when we bought our home. This is the first time I have grown fruit trees (being strictly a Flower Girl up to now!) I did some reading on how to prune espaliered trees and did a better job this year than last (!) I never sprayed the trees because I am trying to stay away from pesticides. The pruned trees sprouted and bloomed beautifully. They looked great until these last two weeks, when I got browned curled leaves on some of branch tips. I vaguely remember this happening last spring too. It doesn't affect the whole tree, just the tips of some branches. What did I do wrong? Do I need to remove the curled leaves? Will this start spreading from the branch tips down toard the trunk? Will it affect the number of apples that are produced? I am venturing into brand-new territory here and I appreciate all your comments!
silver_ creek
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: May-19-2007 at 6:37am
There could be a few things going on. You could have aphids attacking the new growth (look on the undersides of the leaves). If that is the problem, spray them off with a strong stream of water, or use horticultural soap or summer oil. Powdery mildew can also cause the new growth to curl, but you would also see the leaves and new twigs look like they had a gray powder on them. For powdery mildew, you should spray- it will eventually damage the branches and affect future fruiting (sulfur or Serenade, both organic sprays). And this time of you can get leaf rollers- unroll a leaf edge and look for a small green worm or worm poop. There is an organic spray for that as well- Bt, or Bacillus thurengensis, a bacteria.
Terry M.
AmyPNW
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: May-19-2007 at 7:45am
One other possibility is fire blight. Based on your description it is probably not fire blight but here are a few pics of some fire blight problems:
http://www.caf.wvu.edu/Kearneysville/disease_descriptions/omblight.html
Amy
AmyPNW
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: May-19-2007 at 7:59am
Here's another helpful link to the Home Orchard Society, excellent resource:
http://www.homeorchardsociety.org/
Amy
trav
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: May-20-2007 at 6:58pm
Originally posted by AmyPNW
One other possibility is fire blight. Based on your description it is probably not fire blight ...
Do we actually get fireblight on this side of the Cascades? I've seen it in eastern Washington.
Travis
silver_ creek
Location: Washington, Western Cascade Foothills
Posted: May-21-2007 at 9:14pm
Not common in Western WA, but maybe in the Willamette Valley it may be seen- more heat=more chance of fireblight.
Terry M.
Poppy
Location: Oregon, Greater Portland Metro
Posted: Jun-27-2007 at 8:00pm
it's not fireblight---I am going with little moth creatures:(
trav
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Jun-28-2007 at 12:00am
One other pest that can cause similar problems (although I see it more on my pears than on my apples) is sawfly larvae. The ones I get at my place look kind of like tiny little slugs, or like someone spit tobacco juice on the plant - one common name is the "pear slug".
Travis
DebbieTT
Location: Washington, Kitsap Peninsula
Posted: Jun-28-2007 at 10:43am
I saw them one year on my plum trees. Icky little critters. Never found them on the apple trees though; however, they could be there but not doing enough damage to notice.
When the going gets tough, the tough need a hug.
mdvaden
Location: Oregon, Western
Posted: Jul-02-2007 at 2:31pm
Sometimes rain, dew or water will harbor bacterial growth in water droplets - sometimes.
When the temps are "just right" - and it can burn leaves.
Its a possibility.
M.D. Vaden
bakingbarb
Location: Washington, Western
Posted: Jul-03-2007 at 10:15pm
Poppy, for treating your fruit trees without using nasty stuff try Gardens Alive (I can't make the hyperlink thing work). www.gardensalive.com
Gardens Alive
~BakingBarb
Gardening for the Homebrewer: Grow and Process Plants for Making Beer, Wine, Gruit, Cider, Perry, and More
By co-authors Debbie Teashon (Rainy Side Gardeners) and Wendy Tweton