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I have an English walnut sapling that grows vigorously all summer, but at the beginning of Fall the leaves dry up and fall. It has been two years now. Is that a problem with the tree?

Lorem Ipsum
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J. Musser
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    Just to clarify: "been two years": Do you mean it does this every year? (which would be normal) or It hasn't grown back in two years? (in which case it is almost certainly dead) – winwaed Sep 25 '11 at 02:13
  • It does it every year. The leaves get yellow spots and fall. – J. Musser Sep 27 '11 at 01:10
  • @jmusser Can you please post a photo of your English Walnut sapling & one of the leaves (so we can try to see if the leaves are carrying some kind of disease of not). – Mike Perry Sep 27 '11 at 16:19
  • It doesn't have any leaves. – J. Musser Oct 02 '11 at 01:13

2 Answers2

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Walnut is deciduous, i.e. it is meant to lose its leaves in Autumn (Fall).

I don't know where you are located but if the climate and seasons are slightly different from its native habitat (originally Balkans-Himalayas) then it may lose it's leaves slightly earlier or later than in its native habitat.

Lorem Ipsum
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winwaed
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    It loses them a couple of months before other trees. – J. Musser Sep 27 '11 at 01:08
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    Different varieties of tree lose their leaves at different times. Their buds also come out at different times - I have a little bit of concern with an elm of ours every Spring because it is always a few weeks later than other trees in the area. – winwaed Sep 27 '11 at 01:16
5

According to a couple of different sources, walnut trees are among the first to lose their leaves. (And among the last to leaf out in spring.) Those pages are discussing Juglans nigra (Black walnut), but as far as I can tell Juglans regia (English walnut) behaves the same way.

There is a fungus, walnut anthracnose, that can cause early leaf drop. You didn't mention symptoms of this, and you'd have seen leaves drop back in August. Also, English walnut is less susceptible.

So what you are seeing is normal unless you have the spots on the leaves and fruit as seen in the photos in the link above.

bstpierre
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