My flowering almond is dieing. Leaves are turning brown and brittle. It borders a concrete walk way. Could lime from the concrete be doing this. We put down red cedar mulch this summer. Is this the problem. Surrounding plants show no sign of stress and we have been watering it, so it's not lack of water. Could it be too moist due to the mulch?
Out here these often become infected with a pathogen and die back after flowering. Hard pruning right after bloom may help with this (it starts near the ends of the most recently grown branches and works its way in).
thank you so much for the response. I do not know if that is the problem and am a bit concerned that if I prune it back now, it may cause more stress to the plant. Today, I removed the mulch from the base of the plant and put down some bone meal, hoping this will assist in the recovery. The whole branch and leaf system is suffering but the base and the trunk itself, seems to still be healthy. Any other suggestions you can give would be greatly appreciated.