Plum tree help needed.

Plum tree help!

Hi I have only had this plum tree under a year and this is it's first summer and it has not done well. The leaves went yellow then fell off. I wasn't sure if it was too dry as the oak tree in the same pot also looked a bit dry. After watering the oak tree has recovered but the plum has not. It also has a couple of areas that don't look especially healthy.

I don't know whether to abaond it or if there is any chance of recovery.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Peter, in order to help you, we'll need more info. Here are some questions we'll need the answers to:

1. Where is your location?
2. Have there been any extreme weather events in your area recently? (heat waves, drought, flooding, etc.)? Maybe it got too dry and the oak tree stole all it's water.
3. What species of plum do you have (European, Japanese, etc.) and what variety (if known) is it?
4. Why is there an oak tree in the same pot and how did it get there?
5. Are there any gummy deposits of a sticky, amber-like substance oozing out of the bark? If yes, the tree could have gummosis/bacterial canker- very common among plums.
6. Are there any tiny holes in the stem or base with tiny grains of sawdust (frass) in and around them? If yes, the tree could have borers- a very common pest of plums in pots.

Thank you for getting back to me.

1. Wales, UK
2. We did have about 3 weeks of very dry weather but the leaves had started to yellow before that
3. Victoria patio plum
4. The oak tree had been planted shortly after the plum from an acorn.
5. There are gummy deposits and sap leaking from the tree I have tried to photograph these in the photos
6. No signs of small holes, but I have noticed lots of wood lice in the pot.

Looking forward to your reply! The main question I would like to ask if it is salvageable. If not I will just have to remove it.

Thanks again

Pete

Hi Peter, Welcome to Permies!
I'm sorry to see your sad tree.....Is that second to last photo the graft point of the trunk? I'm a bit concerned to see that area looking diseased. I believe Victoria plums can be susceptible to diseases and you may be unlucky there. My inclination would be to refresh the soil in the pot (presumably you can't plant it out?) and remove/repot the oak tree at the same time. Maybe a 'birthday' like that will give the tree a second chance. However a 'patio' tree typically is on a very dwarfing rootstock which doesn't give the tree any vigour - so that it can be kept in a small space (and typically fruit younger).
I would also see if the company you bought it off can give you any advice. Since there does seem to be an issue with the graft, they may perhaps offer an exchange tree as a goodwill gesture. Worth an ask I should think anyhow.

Thank you for the update Peter. I agree with Nancy, it would probably be a  good idea to gently separate the two trees , get rid of the wood lice and repot them both in fresh, high quality organic potting soil in separate pots.

This problem definitely sounds like some form of gummosis, which can be caused by bacteria, fungus, insects, mechanical injury and/or sunscald. I see lots of this on plums and apricots. If I see it on a branch, I prune off the branch and burn it. If I see this on the trunk, I try to clean the area, remove all gunk, and gently scrape off any really bad spots, being careful not to "ring" the tree. Sometimes I'll spray copper (I use an organically approved formula) on the wound. Then I paint the entire bottom part of the trunk from just beneath the soil line up to the first branch with white latex paint. In fact, I paint the trunks of all my young Prunus (plums, apricots,cherries, etc.) trees with white latex. Painting the trunk, especially the graft area,  prevents borers, sunscald ("southwest injury") and gummosis, and this protects the tree from all three problems.

Another good follow up I use in this situation is to spray or fertilize the tree with a seaweed-based product to give the tree more nutrients and to strengthen it against disease and bugs. I also side dress the tree with chicken manure.

And if your plum still does not recover, I would follow Nancy's advice and see if you could get a replacement tree from the nursery. Good luck!

Thank you very much for your help. I will give repotting a go and see if that helps. I am worried it might be too far gone but probably worth a try. I think you are right that the area is diseased, it certainly doesn't look healthy. I would be willing to plant it out if you think that may help? Is it worth trying to clean the diseased area up or is this likely to be futile?

On a bit of a side note. I have couple of blueberry plants growing quite close to eachother. One has done well and produced fruit while the other one has very red leaves. I have added a bed of grass clippings as a mulch to see if that helps incase it is nutrient deficient. Do you think this will help or is there something else I could do?

Thank you, this is an incredibly helpful forum!

Pete

It doesn't look completely dead to me, so I would try to clean it and then repot it in good soil.  After repotting, I would try to keep it away from hot afternoon sun and keep it well watered.  I wouldn't replant it in the ground right now, because the summer heat will stress it out.

Red leaves on a blueberry plant during the growing season could be from a nutrient deficiency, pH problems and/or heat wave/drought stress. I would side dress the plant with some acidic fertilizer - I use acid mix, a locally produced organic fertilizer made for blueberries and rhododendrons. Then I'd water it thoroughly with some liquid fertilizer and then mulch the heck out out of it with wood chips. And if that  second blueberry is getting a lot more hot afternoon sun than the first one, I would shade it with a wheelbarrow or bucket or folding chair till the heat wave is over. I'm not sure how the weather has been in Wales this summer, but I've had some real problems with the excessive heat (100 F.) this summer here in Oregon and I'll probably lose at least one blueberry because of it.  Hope all this helps...

I forgot to mention that the grass clippings might be a good mulch for your blueberry. I'd try them now and if they don't perk up your plant, then maybe you could look for a small box of acidic fertilizer or some wood chips and apply those.  They have free wood chips near my farm and I pick them up all the time. Blueberries LOVE wood chips. I usually use grass clippings on  summer veggies, then put chips on top of that to hold the moisture in.

That's all absolutely great! Thank you so much for getting back to me so quickly. Fortunately we have a bag of wood chippings which I will put to use!

Thank you again

Pete