JUST PLANTED YOUNG RED BUD TREE 3-4 MONTHS AGO. SEEMS IN DISTRESS. LEAVES ARE CURLING WITH LARGE BROWN AREAS THAT ARE BRITTLE AND BREAK APART AT THE TOUCH. ALSO NOW HAVE REAL SMALL BROWN SPOTS ON FRONT AND BACK OF LEAVES THAT LOOK LIKE GOT SPRAYED WITH MUD. BEEN WATERING EVERY OTHER DAY FOR 3-5 HOURS. TRYING NUTRIENTS NOW. OVERALL LOOKS LIMP. ANY SUGGESTIONS AS TO WHAT I CAN DO TO SAVE THIS TREE? P.S. LIVE IN BUFFALO, NY

Reply to post by DIANE DIEDERICH, on August 04, 2002 at 17:44:43:

Diagnosis is tricky from long distance, which is why everybody on this listserv keeps answering people who write in to contact a certified or consulting arborist who can look at the tree.
It might be helpful for you to remember that the symptoms of a drowning tree are hard to distinguish from those of a parched tree. If I were to give you one piece of advice from cyberspace, it would be to not water until you have touched the soil and determined that it was actually dry. If it is wet, as I suspect it might be, then do not water again until it dries out.

Reply to post by Jerry, on August 04, 2002 at 17:44:43:

good advice on not drowning tree. Also see www.isa-arbor.com for consumer info, esp. new Tree Planting.
Very often trees are buried in the nursery then buried deeper at planting time. If you can't find the root flare tha may be the problem.