In message , Mary
writes
The leaves of my young rowan tree have gone brown withered and died. This
has only happened in the last few weeks.
Would anyone know why this may have happened, and what are the chances of
tree recovering next year.

Our young ornamental cherry is started to go the same way.

Thanks
Mary


What can happen is that waterlogging of the soil kills the roots, and
the foliage slowly dies off due to a lack of water being provided. (This
happens faster when the weather warms up and the sun comes out, because
the rate of water loss from the foliage increases.)

(I've lost several perennials, and I suspect shrubs as well, this year
from that cause, and the same happened with the downpours of, IIRC,
August 2003.)

If the plant has sufficient reserves it can produce new roots, and these
will support the production of new foliage, probably next year.
--
Stewart Robert Hinsley