I live in Monroe (Zone 7). Two years ago I planted 3 Arbutus ‘Compacta’. I have never pruned them. This year they took the cold winter pretty hard: over half of the leaves are golden/brown/black, with some already falling off. Will the leaves be replaced or do I need to cut the branches and stems to those leaves and hope for the best? The tree/shrubs are in well-drained soil, mulched, facing south/southwest. The leaves hurt the worst were on the upper and north facing side.
It sounds like you are seeing winter damage on your plant. You should probably wait and see if the plant returns to more robust health, and to see if new growth develops where those leaves have dropped before deciding whether to prune it at all. The local web site Great Plant Picks indicates that Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ can be cold-sensitive. Arbutus unedo ‘Compacta’ tolerates a wide variety of soil conditions. It grows best in part or full sun and is drought tolerant once established. There are few insect and disease problems, though it can occasionally get aphids and there may be fungal spotting on older leaves if grown in very poor soil. Foliage and flowers may be damaged in extremely cold winters. If you think that there is something else going on besides winter injury, I would recommend taking a sample to a Master Gardener Clinic for diagnosis.
Below is information on winter injury from Washington State Extension and the Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook.
I have a Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’ – I’ve noticed it is not
flowering very much any more and when it does produce flower buds, they turn
brown and start to die before they have fully bloomed. Can you tell me what
causes this and what I can do to keep this from happening. The tree itself
seems quite healthy and is growing very well.
There are a number of reasons that plants may fail to flower, and it may be difficult to pinpoint precisely why for your Magnolia grandiflora.
If this is a newly planted Magnolia, it may be too young to flower. Magnolias are somewhat notorious for being slow to flower.
Sometimes, cold temperatures kill off flower buds. This could cause bud browning and failure to flower. Magnolias can be quite sensitive to cold temperatures and to wind, in particular (see the picture of another Magnolia species with frost damaged flowers here). In some cases, frost damage can be severe enough that the flower buds die entirely.
There is a chance that the M. grandiflora’s failure to flower could be related to fertilizers, as well. Making more phosphorus and micronutrients available to the tree, or avoiding adding nitrogen, can help balance this out. Rankin’s book says that a Magnolia which is mulched once or twice a year does not need supplemental fertilizer, and adding it can encourage excessive vegetative growth at the expense of flowers. When there is a high quantity of nitrogen, plants tend to grow leaves rather than flowers. For example, flowering trees planted in lawns that are
heavily fertilized with nitrogen may flower much less or not at all.
Finally, M. grandiflora tends to need a fair amount of sun in order to blossom. On one gardening web page, I found an anecdote where the author talks about a M. grandiflora tree they own, half of which is shaded and flowerless, and the other half of which gets sun and flowers profusely. According to Magnolias: A Care Manual by Graham Rankin (Laurel Glen, 1999), any Magnolia planted in heavy shade will flower very weakly at best.
First and last average frost dates for major American and Canadian cities, plus the number of days in the average growing season for each city.
First and last average frost dates for 23 major Washington state cities from Aberdeen to Yakima.
Before you send your Christmas tree away to be chipped for mulch, consider how the tree can be used in your own garden. Cut the branches off the main trunk to place around plants or emerging bulbs that could use extra frost protection. The main trunk could then be used as a stout stake for annual vines planted in the spring. Another idea is to use it as a temporary bird feeding station. Tie on orange slices, suet balls, peanut butter and birdseed smeared pine cones and then stand back and watch the feeding frenzy.
