My Snowbell tree is dying from the leader, down to the lower branches, and there don't appear to be any pests on the leaves. In the Spring, my 10ft tall tree was very healthy looking with plenty of foliage and flower buds. Then, in May, I noticed the leaves starting to curl and brown, along entire branches (starting from the trunk and progressing to the branch tip). At first, I thought it was just isolated to a few branches, but then it soon became evident the entire tree is dying back. Now, only the lower 1/4 of the tree has healthy branches. I think it has something to do with the root system, because I don't see any stem damage of any kind. Are Japanese Snowbell trees sensitive to mechanical damage? I used a hoe to weed under the tree, and when I was edging my lawn I noticed that I was disturbing the roots. It's roots do sit close to the surface of the soil, so maybe I did some damage to the roots when I was edging and weeding around it. It seems to be dying quickly and I'm at a loss as to how to stop this process. Any ideas?
They are known to being quite sensitive to soil compaction, but I've difficulty believing some weeding and edging could cause that amount of damage. You're not the only one to have this problem this year, though - see this thread.
