What happened?

[Peeps]

I have 5 trees that are not looking good. All my other trees are looking great and these were great last year. On some the buds look like they withered away and on others they look really late waking up. 1st 2 pics are an Early Gold Pear planted in 20, 3rd pic is a 20 Snow Sweet, 4th is a 16 Wolf River. The Wolf River next to it is fully leafed out and already pedaled. The 5th is a 17 Honey Crisp that the buds curled up and the 7th is a 17 Honey Gold that has some branches doing great while others are not. Any ideas. We did have a bad winter frost wise. Hardly any snow caused the frost to dive deep. Tons of septic systems including mine froze up in the area.

 

[Peeps]

Sorry some of the pics posted multiple times

 

[bigboreblr]

The one or two with black branches may likely be fireblight. Consider cutting back those black branches and spray with something to treat it.

Fire Blight / Pear / Agriculture: Pest Management Guidelines / UC Statewide IPM Program (UC IPM)

ipm.ucanr.edu

I used bonide copper to treat the first time this past year on bartlet pear. I also sprayed the neighboring kieffer pear too. No signs so far. I believe copper is only dormant season. fertilome has the antibiotic stuff in it mentioned in the article. Never used it.

I believe good post season cleanup help fireblght, remian fruti on ground and leaves removed. Helps with scab on apple trees.


How bad was your frost? Cold days etc. Probbly kills roots when too cold, but you get branch die back too. Don't qute me here, but I tihnk -35 deg F cold is zone 3 trees. Honeycrisp is better htna the average apple with cold, so is wolf river too.

If you suspect considerable root damage, consider watering them a bit more this year. Using a small 1/8 to 1/4" hole in some 5 gallon buckets promotes deeper watering where the more healthy roots might be. LEss roots mean less water and nutrients. You could add a mild doese of miracle grow in the tank too.

Those 4x4 cages are very easy for rabbits to get in and out of. Check the very base for signs or girdling. Field mice can creates problems too. Check for tunneling by them, soft spots around the tree's ground.

 

[Turkey Creek]

Bark looks healthy. I would suggest looking at the root zone area as well. Sudden die back of leaves like that or weak growth of leaves overall is going to be a root issue most likely. As long as the tissue is still green under the bark there is hope for the tree.

 

[homerj]

I'd be looking for borer holes