Knowledgebase

Leafs Falling from Trees #930180

Asked April 30, 2026, 2:42 PM EDT

Hello: Last week, I noticed that the leaves in my Crepe Myrtle browned out and fell; as I looked throughout the neighborhood, I noticed the same on all others. Today, I noticed that a Japanese Maple in my backyard is dropping all of its leaves. Assuming this is all due to the frost/freeze of about 10 days ago. Will the trees regenerate leaves this Spring? Any maintenance that we should be doing at this time or just leave them alone?

Montgomery County Maryland

Expert Response

Yes, it is damage from the frost/freeze that much of Maryland experienced last week. Hardy plants do not retain their freeze tolerance once they have broken dormancy and begun to produce new growth, which is why temperature swings between very mild days and cold snaps in spring can be very damaging. We've received numerous inquiries about such damage on a variety of tree, shrub, and perennial species that had begun to grow or leaf-out when the we had a freeze overnight.

Nothing can heal the injured tissues, but healthy and well-established plants usually have enough energy reserves to produce new growth, though it may take them a few weeks to start to look normal again. It would be best to wait to see how the plant fares, and only trim branch tips (when reachable) if they remain bare (having no new growth; that might not be the case here) once the rest of the tree leafs-out again. The wilted/singed leaves will eventually fall off on their own as they dry out.

We are still in a worsening drought, carried over from the past two years of insufficient rain. It would reduce plant stress to monitor them for watering needs and irrigate them periodically as needed. The linked page has watering guidance. Producing new growth requires ample root moisture, and the process can be hindered or stalled if a plant is too drought-stressed. Otherwise, there isn't really anything you can do to speed up the recovery process.

Miri

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