My Apple Tree's Leaves are Turning Yellow, Brown, Then Falling Off

[CAROLE BACON]

I have an apple tree I planted a couple months ago and it looks sickly. The leaves are turning yellow, then brown and falling off.

I live in Arizona and the weather has been nice, mid 80s to low 90s. I watered it everyday, but have gone to every other day. I typically let the hose trickle for about 10-15 minutes.

Any ideas would be much appreciated.

 

[Owdboggy]

Possibly too much water. Let it dry out for a while and see if new leaves begin.

 

[Chuck]

@Owdboggy is correct. Watering every other day for 15 minutes is way too much. Water ONLY when the top couple of inches of soil is dry and then completely saturate. You cannot overwater a plant but you can and will kill it by watering too often

 

[Owdboggy]

Out of interest, was this a container grown plant or a bare root one?

 

[Beth_B]

Just a thought...I used to know a woman who owned a greenhouse specializing in rare cacti. She monitored the weather conditions in all areas her plants came from and duplicated it the best she could. Apples are not native or well-suited for your climate.

Arizona is not a natural climate for apple trees. Also I agree that a little water every other day is not at all natural and way too frequent. My neighbors here in Michigan have a couple of productive apple trees and just rely on whatever rain falls - which is frequent but certainly not every other day.

Deep watering only when necessary is your best solution for sure. Frequent, shallow watering leads to the demise of many a plant.