Arbutus Marina aka Strawberry Tree Yellowing Leaves

13 years ago

On April 16, 2010 I installed 2 Arbutus Marina Multi-Trunk trees. Both were purchased in 24 inch boxes from a local nursery. The first box contained 3 small trunks 3 inches in diameter. The second box contained 2 trunks 5 inches in diameter. The 3 small trunks transplanted without any discoloration of the leaves and is doing wonderfully. The 2 larger trunks are suffering some yellowing of leaves. Not extensive, but enough to concern me. And the blooms have most all wilted.

I'm wondering if the difference in ages of the trees is the reason for the yellowing and wilting or if there is some other cause I should be concerned about. They both have received the same amount of water and have the same exposure.

I have photos, but I do not know how to insert them in this post....if someone would be kind enough to tell me how to insert a photo I will post a follow up with the photos.

Thanks in advance!

Featured Answer

bahia

13 years ago

It is also the nature of this tree species to drop older leaves after they yellow, as they are pushing new growth this time of year. If the newest tip growth is not wilted, and they yellowing of foliage is only the older, lower leaves, it is probably adjusting to your site. It may have seen less sun at the nursery, so is under more moisture stress now that it is planted out, and presumably getting more sun.

The critical thing with Arbutus 'Marina' is to make sure you gave it excellent drainage, and that it is not sitting in water at the base of the root ball. You should probably also use the hose once a week to give it a good slow soak to thoroughly wet the entire root ball, as conventional spray irrigation run times aren't going to be long enough to wet the soil down to the 2 foot depth of the root ball.

It is a beautiful tree, and much easier to grow than the true native Arbutus menziesii, I hope yours recover.

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Comments (10)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
As long as the drainage is good I would suspect the larger is a little more stressed and should recover alright. I prefer to start trees smaller because they tend to be less stressed by transplanting. I would not do anything drastic like applying fertilizer, but I would mulch well. Al
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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
13 years ago
The easiest way to post photos here is to get a photobucket account (free!) and upload a picture to there, then copy the html link code from the box that appears below the uploaded picture on photobucket, and paste it into your post here.
briander
13 years ago
We have two arbutus Marina trees in their 3rd growing season. Just this season, they are experiencing severe leave yellowing and drop. I suspect this a drainage issue given the wet spring we've had in the SF Bay area. Is there anything that can be done to save the trees such as soil aeration, mulching, etc?
skrip
13 years ago
Here in So.Cal, mine did it as well in May. I planted mine in the fall of 2009. It seems to be a phase it goes through this time of the year. As of today, all the old yellowing leaves browned and have fallen, and there are signs of new growth on it already. The tree is looking good and healthy again.
chanterelle
11 years ago
skrip, thank you for posting your observations. I did a Goggle search and landed here, trying to figure out the reason for yellowing & leaf drop on my Arbutus Marina in May. It is a 7 foot tree that was planted as a 24" box about 1-1/2 yr ago. I am in your area so it I am so relieved to hear that this is normal behavior. The gardening books say to expect the leaves on Arbutus Marina to turn yellow & drop in the fall...do you think that because of our mild So Cal climate, this is delayed till Spring? It seems that as the new leaf growth is happening at the ends of the branches, the old ones are falling off.
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
11 years ago
Until I read this post, and went out and took a good look, I did not even notice my 30 foot high Arbutus Marina, was dropping yellow leaves. Such leaf drop is certainly not a problem, and as your tree grows to a larger tree, and you are no longer worrying about its health, you will also forget about it. My only concern now is my tree needs a little "drop crotch" pruning to keep the canopy rounded, and I have gotten too old to climb up there. Al
bahia
11 years ago
Arbutus Marina all drop old foliage in spring as they are pushing new growth, as do our native Arbutus menziesii here in northern california. I would imagine they do the same in southern california.
6565sunset
8 years ago
Arbutus Marina yellow and dropping leaves now (oct 2015 southern CA.) 24 in box planted in March) was worried but thanks to all of you I can sleep at night now. ;-)
kathyvan95
3 years ago
Mine has lots of yellowing leaves Planted this tree 7 months ago. Should I be concerned?