Hi This tree about 5 feet tall 3 years old srarting last year the leaves turned brownish dried up and fell off around August.
This year the same thing has started leaves are turning again very dry then I pull them off.
What do you think the problem is and possibly a solution
Thank You to your team
Thank you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners with your concern for browning leaves on your Camperdown elm tree (Ulmus glabra ‘Camperdownii’).
One possible culprit for the damage is an insect, the elm leaf miner (Fenusa ulmi) which feeds between the outer layers of elm leaves causing browning and leaf drop. This link describes the natural insect control for early spring: Leaf Miner Guard: Beneficial Nematodes – Natural Insect Control.
However, the highly respected Missouri Botanical Garden offers a more optimistic approach by suggesting that leaf scorch is frequently caused by sunburn and heat stress while acknowledging that insect damage or specific fungi or bacteria can also affect the tree’s uptake of water. Their Gardening Help article https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/environmental/scorch.aspx describes the injury symptoms and diagnosis both in text and in colour photographs and offers six Integrated Pest Management Strategies.
The stress on water is important, particularly in our current climate, and we firmly recommend that all evergreens and deciduous shrubs and trees be well watered going into the winter period. Particularly with our unusual weather of heat and prolonged drought this summer coupled with the drying winds we’ve been experiencing, the suggestion of heat and stress damage seems plausible.
We wish you every success in keeping healthy your lovely young tree.