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Yellowing and dropping leaves on Autumn Brilliance Service Berry #877273

Asked July 15, 2024, 11:12 AM EDT

There's so much confusing (to me) information about what to do about my up-to-now healthy Serviceberries planted in 2021. They produced an abundance of fruit this spring and were beautiful until a few days ago. I'm sure that drought is not causing the problem but due to the rains we've experienced through spring and summer so far, I suspect that may be one cause. They get plenty of sun until mid-afternoon and I've fertilized with Scott's Evergreen and Flowering Shrub fertilizer, lightly as directed. So, soil? We do have clay soil. How do I get the soil tested? Are kits available? I'm new to this as you can tell. We are planning on mulching again as soon as possible.

Oakland County Michigan

Expert Response

Good morning and thank you for reaching out.  Here's a link to our soil test kits which can be ordered and delivered to your home.  You can also pick one up at your local Extension office but we recommend calling them first to make sure the office is open and they have soil test kits available.  The soil test kit is a popular item as you can imagine.

Home Lawn and Garden Soil Test Self-Mailer - Gardening in Michigan (msu.edu)

In the meantime, I will assign your question to a bush/shrub experts.

Ask Extension Question Wrangler Pronouns: she/her/hers Find your local Extension office here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/county Find an expert in a specific topic here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/outreach/experts/experts-by-topic-area Find home gardening information here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/home_gardening/ Order a soil test kit here: https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/soil-testing-returns-through-msu-extension Mold questions? We don’t have an expert in mold, but we do have a few resources below or contact the  Michigan health department. Molds in the Home Indoor Air Quality May be Hazardous to Your Health   Mushroom questions? We can’t identify, but we do have these three resources to help you: Identifying  Morel  Poisonous MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. Michigan State University Extension programs and materials are open to all without regard to race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, age, height, weight, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, marital status, family status or veteran status. Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg, Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi peoples. The University resides on the land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw. Replied July 15, 2024, 11:18 AM EDT

Hello Denise,

I am sorry to see that your serviceberry has a problem. Downy Serviceberry (Amelanchier arborea) or Shadblow Serviceberry, (Amelanchier canadensis) prefers moist, well-drained, acid but will tolerate many types of soils; tolerates full sun to partial shade.

There are several insects and diseases that affect it including spider mite, leaf borer, scale and rusts, leaf blight, fire blight and powdery mildew.

Therefore, it is difficult to say what could have caused the leaves on your Serviceberry to turn yellow from the pictures. Usually, yellowing leaves indicate that the tree is undergoing stress of some kind, such as drought or too much moisture, planting too deeply, too much mulch. Also a spring frost could have caused the leaves to turn yellow. I suggest that you keep the tree watered during dry periods. Make sure the mulch is no thicker than 2-3 inches and away from the trunk of the tree. Too much fertilizer can make the tree susceptible to insect attack.

Monitor the tree and if the problem persists, you could send pictures to the MSU Plant and Pest Diagnostic Lab for analysis. Go to: https://www.canr.msu.edu/pestid/ to learn how to submit pictures and samples.

You could also contact a certified arborist to advise you. Go to: http://www.treesaregood.org , the website of the International Society of Arboriculture to find an arborist in your area.

Good luck with your tree.

Thank you for contacting Ask Extension.


An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 16, 2024, 10:50 AM EDT

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