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Siberian Elm dropping many brown leaves #872494
Asked June 10, 2024, 6:18 PM EDT
Siberian Elm dropping many many brown leaves. It's at least 50 years old. Ugly tree that dropos seeds and gets beetles sometimes. But it's our only shade for this small urban yard. Colorado Springs
El Paso County Colorado
Expert Response
Dear kathy1sherm2,
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YOUR QUESTION #0142412:
Siberian Elm dropping many brown leaves
Siberian Elm dropping many many brown leaves. It's at least 50 years old. Ugly tree that dropos seeds and gets beetles sometimes. But it's our only shade for this small urban yard. Colorado Springs
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Siberian Elm dropping many many brown leaves. It's at least 50 years old. Ugly tree that dropos seeds and gets beetles sometimes. But it's our only shade for this small urban yard. Colorado Springs
Hello Kathy,
Thank you for reaching out and asking your question regarding your Siberian Elm tree’s brown leaves.
It sounds like you are aware of the Elm Leaf Beetles and the type of damage they leave behind with the skeletonized leaves and that type of damage is not what you are seeing on your tree.
Some questions to consider as I help you navigate your question are:
Is there anything else you noticed besides the brown leaves?
Do the leaves have any damage besides the browning?
Are there any signs of leaf wilting, curling, yellowing of the leaves?
Does the bark on the trunk and leaves look healthy?
What are the watering practices for this tree?
Might the tree be drought stressed?
Was there any herbicide/pesticide spraying in the area recently?
Is this the first time you have noticed this type of damage?
Did you have a late frost when the tree was leafing out?
As you consider the answers to the above questions, I will present you with some possibilities below.
It is my understanding that the Siberian Elm is resistant to the Dutch Elm disease. In my research I have found some experts say the Siberian Elm can get this disease. In this link https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/dutch-elm-disease from University of Minnesota Extension, it does mention the Siberian Elm may be affected by the Dutch Elm disease. This may be a possibility to explore.
The Verticillium Wilt disease is also another disease that could be causing the leaves to brown up. This link from University of Minnesota describes the details of how this disease affects your tree. https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/plant/deciduous/elm/leavesbrown.html
Kathy, we welcome you to contact your local County Extension office, https://extension.colostate.edu/field-offices/ and ask them about bringing in a sample of the affected branches/leaves for further examination. It can be difficult to make a diagnosis without close examination of the affected tree. Your local County Extension office may have a list of Arborists that you might contact for on site examination of the tree and certainly fees may apply depending on the Arborist.
I hope this response was helpful and please reach back out if you have more questions.
Kind Regards,
Laurie P.
Colorado Master Gardener
