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Why is this tree refusing to shed its dead leaves?


Why is my Ficus losing its leaves?What is this plant with red growths on its leaves?Why would a walnut tree lose all its leaves in ten minutes?Strange brown/dead spots on leaves?Easiest way to remove large amount of leaves from yardWhy does my Dracaena fragrans lose its leaves?Can anyone identify this plant that grows leaves from its leaf?Why is my avocado tree losing its leaves?Why remove dead leaves from plants?Why is my avocado tree dropping its leaves?













10















There's this tree I've been noticing (not sure what it's called) and throughout the whole winter it has held onto its leaves that went dry in fall even under windy/rainy conditions. Since leaves dont rejuvenate themselves, how will it produce new leaves for the next season? Will they eventually fall somewhere around spring or is one supposed to remove them by hand to make room for the newer set of leaves to follow?
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question



















  • 8





    Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 12:18







  • 2





    Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 22:46











  • @bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago






  • 1





    It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

    – Bamboo
    2 days ago















10















There's this tree I've been noticing (not sure what it's called) and throughout the whole winter it has held onto its leaves that went dry in fall even under windy/rainy conditions. Since leaves dont rejuvenate themselves, how will it produce new leaves for the next season? Will they eventually fall somewhere around spring or is one supposed to remove them by hand to make room for the newer set of leaves to follow?
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question



















  • 8





    Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 12:18







  • 2





    Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 22:46











  • @bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago






  • 1





    It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

    – Bamboo
    2 days ago













10












10








10








There's this tree I've been noticing (not sure what it's called) and throughout the whole winter it has held onto its leaves that went dry in fall even under windy/rainy conditions. Since leaves dont rejuvenate themselves, how will it produce new leaves for the next season? Will they eventually fall somewhere around spring or is one supposed to remove them by hand to make room for the newer set of leaves to follow?
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here










share|improve this question
















There's this tree I've been noticing (not sure what it's called) and throughout the whole winter it has held onto its leaves that went dry in fall even under windy/rainy conditions. Since leaves dont rejuvenate themselves, how will it produce new leaves for the next season? Will they eventually fall somewhere around spring or is one supposed to remove them by hand to make room for the newer set of leaves to follow?
enter image description hereenter image description hereenter image description here







leaves winter






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited Mar 18 at 13:52









Community

1




1










asked Mar 18 at 10:00









Hamid SabirHamid Sabir

277114




277114







  • 8





    Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 12:18







  • 2





    Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 22:46











  • @bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago






  • 1





    It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

    – Bamboo
    2 days ago












  • 8





    Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 12:18







  • 2





    Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

    – Bamboo
    Mar 18 at 22:46











  • @bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago






  • 1





    It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

    – Bamboo
    2 days ago







8




8





Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

– Bamboo
Mar 18 at 12:18






Whilst this may be a case of marcescence, this tree might instead be dead...check by peeling back a little of the bark or skin on the branches with your fingernail to see what its like inside - if its moist and greenish,its alive, if its brown and dry, it isn't. Check near the base too...

– Bamboo
Mar 18 at 12:18





2




2





Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

– Bamboo
Mar 18 at 22:46





Note I do not say to cut the tree in any way, as mentioned in an answer below - just scrape back a small bit of bark, or the outer surface, with a fingernail to check.

– Bamboo
Mar 18 at 22:46













@bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago





@bamboo_ it's good that you pointed that out. I did go back to check on the tree this morning and well, it seems to be very much alive apart from a few dead twigs and branches so i guess its a marcescence (dont even know how to pronounce it) as mentioned in one of the answers. I guess all that's left is identifying the tree. I've looked up marcescence on the internet and the list is rather small so it shouldn't be that hard.

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago




1




1





It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

– Bamboo
2 days ago





It might be easier to identify once it comes into leaf too...

– Bamboo
2 days ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















18














This is called Marcescence.



Some species of trees retain their old leaves longer than others, and young trees may retain them longer than old trees. In the UK, "copper beech" trees (with naturally brown or purple coloured leaves even in summer) which are sometimes used for ornamental hedges often retain the old leaves right through the winter.



It may be a defence against animals eating the tree branches in winter, if the old leaves are not so edible as the branches themselves.



You don't have to do anything to remove the leaves. New leaves will grow from new buds on the branches. The old leaves will fall off on their own, eventually.



The Wikipedia link has a picture showing new leaves on an oak tree, before the old leaves have fallen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence#/media/File:Marcescence_on_Quercus_rubra.jpg






share|improve this answer




















  • 1





    Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 18 at 13:26











  • Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

    – Chris H
    Mar 18 at 13:37











  • @ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:11












  • @alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago











  • @WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago


















5














The tree is probably dead, as @Bamboo has pointed out in a comment. The reason for this conclusion is that the leaves are dull, dry, and curled. In normal growth the leaf expands, does its job of keeping metabolism going and at the end of the growing period forms an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk. This allows the leaf to fall leaving a sealed wound that will retain moisture and be resistant to disease. In this case normal growth was interrupted before the abscission layer could be formed, so the leaves did not fall but remain stuck. The leaves reacted by curling up to conserve as much of the existing moisture as possible, but failed to pull in water to replace what it was losing.



In the case of leaves designed to healthily remain on over the winter, as with evergreens and exceptions to the general rule of leaves falling early, the leaves remain turgid and bright, swollen little balloons that retain their shape and lustre much longer into the following year.



There could be many reasons for the sudden interruption of water to the plant: bark girdling at the base, planting too late into the season, drought, poison such as watering with high salt water. I'm sorry to bear bad news possibly; follow the recommendation to cut into some twigs and see if you see some green or an alternative test would be to simply bend over a twig and see how far you can distort it before it breaks. If it bends smoothly and springs back my reasoning is wrong. Let's think positively.






share|improve this answer


















  • 1





    Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

    – JPhi1618
    Mar 18 at 15:34






  • 3





    The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

    – cr0
    Mar 18 at 15:44






  • 1





    @JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

    – slebetman
    Mar 19 at 8:30











  • My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:10











  • @colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

    – Hamid Sabir
    yesterday










Your Answer








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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









18














This is called Marcescence.



Some species of trees retain their old leaves longer than others, and young trees may retain them longer than old trees. In the UK, "copper beech" trees (with naturally brown or purple coloured leaves even in summer) which are sometimes used for ornamental hedges often retain the old leaves right through the winter.



It may be a defence against animals eating the tree branches in winter, if the old leaves are not so edible as the branches themselves.



You don't have to do anything to remove the leaves. New leaves will grow from new buds on the branches. The old leaves will fall off on their own, eventually.



The Wikipedia link has a picture showing new leaves on an oak tree, before the old leaves have fallen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence#/media/File:Marcescence_on_Quercus_rubra.jpg






share|improve this answer




















  • 1





    Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 18 at 13:26











  • Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

    – Chris H
    Mar 18 at 13:37











  • @ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:11












  • @alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago











  • @WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago















18














This is called Marcescence.



Some species of trees retain their old leaves longer than others, and young trees may retain them longer than old trees. In the UK, "copper beech" trees (with naturally brown or purple coloured leaves even in summer) which are sometimes used for ornamental hedges often retain the old leaves right through the winter.



It may be a defence against animals eating the tree branches in winter, if the old leaves are not so edible as the branches themselves.



You don't have to do anything to remove the leaves. New leaves will grow from new buds on the branches. The old leaves will fall off on their own, eventually.



The Wikipedia link has a picture showing new leaves on an oak tree, before the old leaves have fallen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence#/media/File:Marcescence_on_Quercus_rubra.jpg






share|improve this answer




















  • 1





    Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 18 at 13:26











  • Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

    – Chris H
    Mar 18 at 13:37











  • @ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:11












  • @alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago











  • @WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago













18












18








18







This is called Marcescence.



Some species of trees retain their old leaves longer than others, and young trees may retain them longer than old trees. In the UK, "copper beech" trees (with naturally brown or purple coloured leaves even in summer) which are sometimes used for ornamental hedges often retain the old leaves right through the winter.



It may be a defence against animals eating the tree branches in winter, if the old leaves are not so edible as the branches themselves.



You don't have to do anything to remove the leaves. New leaves will grow from new buds on the branches. The old leaves will fall off on their own, eventually.



The Wikipedia link has a picture showing new leaves on an oak tree, before the old leaves have fallen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence#/media/File:Marcescence_on_Quercus_rubra.jpg






share|improve this answer















This is called Marcescence.



Some species of trees retain their old leaves longer than others, and young trees may retain them longer than old trees. In the UK, "copper beech" trees (with naturally brown or purple coloured leaves even in summer) which are sometimes used for ornamental hedges often retain the old leaves right through the winter.



It may be a defence against animals eating the tree branches in winter, if the old leaves are not so edible as the branches themselves.



You don't have to do anything to remove the leaves. New leaves will grow from new buds on the branches. The old leaves will fall off on their own, eventually.



The Wikipedia link has a picture showing new leaves on an oak tree, before the old leaves have fallen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcescence#/media/File:Marcescence_on_Quercus_rubra.jpg







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited Mar 18 at 11:19

























answered Mar 18 at 11:13









alephzeroalephzero

3,7541614




3,7541614







  • 1





    Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 18 at 13:26











  • Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

    – Chris H
    Mar 18 at 13:37











  • @ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:11












  • @alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago











  • @WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago












  • 1





    Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

    – Ian MacDonald
    Mar 18 at 13:26











  • Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

    – Chris H
    Mar 18 at 13:37











  • @ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:11












  • @alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago











  • @WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

    – Hamid Sabir
    2 days ago







1




1





Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

– Ian MacDonald
Mar 18 at 13:26





Thanks for this! I've got an oak that does this and was always curious. Glad to know it's not an issue since it's helpful for the local birds to find shelter in the winter.

– Ian MacDonald
Mar 18 at 13:26













Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

– Chris H
Mar 18 at 13:37





Not just copper beech - beeches in general do this and are sometimes used for privacy hedging as they block the view all year round

– Chris H
Mar 18 at 13:37













@ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

– WendyG
Mar 19 at 11:11






@ChrisH yes the beech hedge in my garden does this, and looking at it I would say this was a beech tree.

– WendyG
Mar 19 at 11:11














@alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago





@alephzero_ thanks alot. I didn't think there would be a type amoung trees to hold onto their old leaves. It's kinda in a way an evergreen but with fall colours providing shade all year round. Do you think they should planted more then their more famous cousin deciduous?

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago













@WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago





@WendyG_ i did wanna find the name of the tree in the photos so i googled beech trees, more specifically the leaves of a beech tree and the shape of the leaves had me thinking differently as they had a sort of teeth like appearance to the edges which i dont find with the leaves on this tree.

– Hamid Sabir
2 days ago











5














The tree is probably dead, as @Bamboo has pointed out in a comment. The reason for this conclusion is that the leaves are dull, dry, and curled. In normal growth the leaf expands, does its job of keeping metabolism going and at the end of the growing period forms an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk. This allows the leaf to fall leaving a sealed wound that will retain moisture and be resistant to disease. In this case normal growth was interrupted before the abscission layer could be formed, so the leaves did not fall but remain stuck. The leaves reacted by curling up to conserve as much of the existing moisture as possible, but failed to pull in water to replace what it was losing.



In the case of leaves designed to healthily remain on over the winter, as with evergreens and exceptions to the general rule of leaves falling early, the leaves remain turgid and bright, swollen little balloons that retain their shape and lustre much longer into the following year.



There could be many reasons for the sudden interruption of water to the plant: bark girdling at the base, planting too late into the season, drought, poison such as watering with high salt water. I'm sorry to bear bad news possibly; follow the recommendation to cut into some twigs and see if you see some green or an alternative test would be to simply bend over a twig and see how far you can distort it before it breaks. If it bends smoothly and springs back my reasoning is wrong. Let's think positively.






share|improve this answer


















  • 1





    Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

    – JPhi1618
    Mar 18 at 15:34






  • 3





    The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

    – cr0
    Mar 18 at 15:44






  • 1





    @JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

    – slebetman
    Mar 19 at 8:30











  • My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:10











  • @colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

    – Hamid Sabir
    yesterday















5














The tree is probably dead, as @Bamboo has pointed out in a comment. The reason for this conclusion is that the leaves are dull, dry, and curled. In normal growth the leaf expands, does its job of keeping metabolism going and at the end of the growing period forms an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk. This allows the leaf to fall leaving a sealed wound that will retain moisture and be resistant to disease. In this case normal growth was interrupted before the abscission layer could be formed, so the leaves did not fall but remain stuck. The leaves reacted by curling up to conserve as much of the existing moisture as possible, but failed to pull in water to replace what it was losing.



In the case of leaves designed to healthily remain on over the winter, as with evergreens and exceptions to the general rule of leaves falling early, the leaves remain turgid and bright, swollen little balloons that retain their shape and lustre much longer into the following year.



There could be many reasons for the sudden interruption of water to the plant: bark girdling at the base, planting too late into the season, drought, poison such as watering with high salt water. I'm sorry to bear bad news possibly; follow the recommendation to cut into some twigs and see if you see some green or an alternative test would be to simply bend over a twig and see how far you can distort it before it breaks. If it bends smoothly and springs back my reasoning is wrong. Let's think positively.






share|improve this answer


















  • 1





    Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

    – JPhi1618
    Mar 18 at 15:34






  • 3





    The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

    – cr0
    Mar 18 at 15:44






  • 1





    @JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

    – slebetman
    Mar 19 at 8:30











  • My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:10











  • @colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

    – Hamid Sabir
    yesterday













5












5








5







The tree is probably dead, as @Bamboo has pointed out in a comment. The reason for this conclusion is that the leaves are dull, dry, and curled. In normal growth the leaf expands, does its job of keeping metabolism going and at the end of the growing period forms an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk. This allows the leaf to fall leaving a sealed wound that will retain moisture and be resistant to disease. In this case normal growth was interrupted before the abscission layer could be formed, so the leaves did not fall but remain stuck. The leaves reacted by curling up to conserve as much of the existing moisture as possible, but failed to pull in water to replace what it was losing.



In the case of leaves designed to healthily remain on over the winter, as with evergreens and exceptions to the general rule of leaves falling early, the leaves remain turgid and bright, swollen little balloons that retain their shape and lustre much longer into the following year.



There could be many reasons for the sudden interruption of water to the plant: bark girdling at the base, planting too late into the season, drought, poison such as watering with high salt water. I'm sorry to bear bad news possibly; follow the recommendation to cut into some twigs and see if you see some green or an alternative test would be to simply bend over a twig and see how far you can distort it before it breaks. If it bends smoothly and springs back my reasoning is wrong. Let's think positively.






share|improve this answer













The tree is probably dead, as @Bamboo has pointed out in a comment. The reason for this conclusion is that the leaves are dull, dry, and curled. In normal growth the leaf expands, does its job of keeping metabolism going and at the end of the growing period forms an abscission layer at the base of the leaf stalk. This allows the leaf to fall leaving a sealed wound that will retain moisture and be resistant to disease. In this case normal growth was interrupted before the abscission layer could be formed, so the leaves did not fall but remain stuck. The leaves reacted by curling up to conserve as much of the existing moisture as possible, but failed to pull in water to replace what it was losing.



In the case of leaves designed to healthily remain on over the winter, as with evergreens and exceptions to the general rule of leaves falling early, the leaves remain turgid and bright, swollen little balloons that retain their shape and lustre much longer into the following year.



There could be many reasons for the sudden interruption of water to the plant: bark girdling at the base, planting too late into the season, drought, poison such as watering with high salt water. I'm sorry to bear bad news possibly; follow the recommendation to cut into some twigs and see if you see some green or an alternative test would be to simply bend over a twig and see how far you can distort it before it breaks. If it bends smoothly and springs back my reasoning is wrong. Let's think positively.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered Mar 18 at 14:44









Colin BeckinghamColin Beckingham

6,653328




6,653328







  • 1





    Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

    – JPhi1618
    Mar 18 at 15:34






  • 3





    The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

    – cr0
    Mar 18 at 15:44






  • 1





    @JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

    – slebetman
    Mar 19 at 8:30











  • My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:10











  • @colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

    – Hamid Sabir
    yesterday












  • 1





    Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

    – JPhi1618
    Mar 18 at 15:34






  • 3





    The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

    – cr0
    Mar 18 at 15:44






  • 1





    @JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

    – slebetman
    Mar 19 at 8:30











  • My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

    – WendyG
    Mar 19 at 11:10











  • @colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

    – Hamid Sabir
    yesterday







1




1





Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

– JPhi1618
Mar 18 at 15:34





Judging from the rest of the ground in the picture, this doesn't look like a place where a tree (or anything else) would grow. It could have been planted in hopes it would grow, or planted in a container and not watered. It really does look dead.

– JPhi1618
Mar 18 at 15:34




3




3





The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

– cr0
Mar 18 at 15:44





The dead appearance can come from stresses like you described, but the ultimate indicator of tree death is the lack of any buds. If there are buds, the tree could still live. It's hard to tell from these photos, but it looks like there are still some buds.

– cr0
Mar 18 at 15:44




1




1





@JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

– slebetman
Mar 19 at 8:30





@JPhi1618 It could have been planted in hopes it would grow - Yes. In some cultures people plant trees ON graves so that the living tree will continue "praying" for the soul of the deceased. And it provides shade for the grave (such trees are never meant to overgrow the grave)

– slebetman
Mar 19 at 8:30













My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

– WendyG
Mar 19 at 11:10





My full beech hedge does this every year please see @ale answer

– WendyG
Mar 19 at 11:10













@colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

– Hamid Sabir
yesterday





@colin beckingham_Thanks alot. Thats good observation and it would make an excellent answer had this been a deciduous tree which I've confirmed it not to be as per your advise. It's alive. Secondly, your reasoning for the tree being rather dead is based on the dull curled up appearance of the leaves. Perhaps you had a certain species in mind but while i was reading up on the term "marcescence", i came across leaves that had a very similar apperance to the leaves in the photos. I'll leave a link below.michigannatureguy.com/blog/2017/04/03/marcescence

– Hamid Sabir
yesterday

















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