Q. We have three Japanese Blueberry trees in our yard:
two in the back and one in the front.
All three have dead branches that snap off when you bend them. Yet there are scattered green leaves above
the dead branches and far more green leaves at the bottoms of the three plants.
Is it possible this is due to lack of water?
They were all planted about 4 1/2 years ago.
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| Some plants will die back and regrow from its base. This can be due to a lack of water or sunburn in high light intensity environments. |
A. Sounds about right. Sounds like the trees went through
a dry spell and then regrew. Oftentimes when trees come back from drought they
sucker from the base. But some trees like oleander (grown as a tree, not a bush) will sucker from its base naturally because it wants to be a shrub. If the drought lasts quite awhile, the top can also die
back. There are trees that sucker from the base naturally, but this tree
shouldn’t unless it was stressed.
a dry spell and then regrew. Oftentimes when trees come back from drought they
sucker from the base. But some trees like oleander (grown as a tree, not a bush) will sucker from its base naturally because it wants to be a shrub. If the drought lasts quite awhile, the top can also die
back. There are trees that sucker from the base naturally, but this tree
shouldn’t unless it was stressed.
 |
| Japanese blueberry struggling in our hot, dry desert climate. |
Whatever
caused the stress (you are guessing maybe a lack of water) suckers grew from
the base of the tree. The top may have “fried” during the drought, and then
grew leaves again, from leaf buds on the stem, when water was reapplied.
caused the stress (you are guessing maybe a lack of water) suckers grew from
the base of the tree. The top may have “fried” during the drought, and then
grew leaves again, from leaf buds on the stem, when water was reapplied.
You are
aware that Japanese Blueberry is not a great choice for desert climates. It is
not a “desert adapted” tree. Does great in coastal California but not the
desert. Make sure the trees are planted in the mildest microclimate you have (probably
east or north side of your home), the soil was amended at the time of planting,
water applied under the canopy 18 inches deep and the top of the soil covered
with woodchips and not rock.
aware that Japanese Blueberry is not a great choice for desert climates. It is
not a “desert adapted” tree. Does great in coastal California but not the
desert. Make sure the trees are planted in the mildest microclimate you have (probably
east or north side of your home), the soil was amended at the time of planting,
water applied under the canopy 18 inches deep and the top of the soil covered
with woodchips and not rock.
Get free woodchips and load them in plastic bags,
a car or a pickup truck. Call the Master Gardener helpline at 702-257-5555,
M-F, and see if any are available and
where.