Locust Tree Leafing Out Irregularly

by Wendy
(Ottawa, Ontario)

I live in Ottawa and last year moved to a house that has a locust tree in the front yard. It is probably 6 years old and in the spring I noticed that one branch leafed out before the others and the rest of the tree leafed out much later compared to others on my street. In the fall the tree lost its leaves before my neighbours. There is some damage to the bark at the base of the tree but I have not noticed any insect problems. Any suggestions as to what I should do this coming spring?

Doug says - pray. That tree is one sick puppy. You don't say what size the tree is - but damage around the base of the tree (as in whipper snipper disease) will certainly kill off just about any size tree over a few years. Some trees take a lot of abuse and others keel over from the smallest bit of damage (much like humans - some get sick easily, others just keep on ticking)

And locusts can be miffy when they get sick - they
'll hang on for some time but when you see variable leafing out, it usually means there's something drastically wrong.

Your only option should it leaf out is to make it as stress-free this year as possible. Get it composted, fed once in the spring, and make sure it doesn't get water-stressed this summer. And for sure keep everything away from the base of the tree so that it might recover.

Good luck with it