Hello,

More stupid questions from a completely novice gardener.
We planted a crab apple about a month ago and are not really sure if
it is OK.

A lot of the leaves are crinkly and quite yellow - is it poorly (maybe
over / underwatering? - I've been giving it some water from a watering
can every 3-5 days since we've had no rain recently), or could they
just be the newer leaves coming out?

And how do you tell the difference between overwatering and
underwatering anyway?

Thanks

"greg" wrote in message
ps.com...
Hello,

More stupid questions from a completely novice gardener.
We planted a crab apple about a month ago and are not really sure if
it is OK.

A lot of the leaves are crinkly and quite yellow - is it poorly (maybe
over / underwatering? - I've been giving it some water from a watering
can every 3-5 days since we've had no rain recently), or could they
just be the newer leaves coming out?

And how do you tell the difference between overwatering and
underwatering anyway?

Thanks

Not a stupid question at all.
Over watering will give yellow moist leaves which then go crinkly.
Under watering will give yellow dry crinkly leaves.
In other words not a big difference but in your case it looks like you have
not been giving enough water. You did not state in what type of soil this
tree is planted but unless you have good moisture retentive soil then I
guess at the moment you should be watering daily.
I doubt that the tree is a goner but it may be this time next year before it
gets back into a decent growing mode.

We planted a crabapple in Yorkshire 2 months ago! We gave ours a bucket of water every two days as it is so dry. But last week we gave it 3 buckets of water and then surrounded it with a thick mulch of compost - hoping to keep the water in & save us a job!.

On May 4, 11:32 am, "Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)"
wrote:
"greg" wrote in message

ps.com...



Hello,

More stupid questions from a completely novice gardener.
We planted a crab apple about a month ago and are not really sure if
it is OK.

A lot of the leaves are crinkly and quite yellow - is it poorly (maybe
over / underwatering? - I've been giving it some water from a watering
can every 3-5 days since we've had no rain recently), or could they
just be the newer leaves coming out?

And how do you tell the difference between overwatering and
underwatering anyway?

Thanks

Not a stupid question at all.
Over watering will give yellow moist leaves which then go crinkly.
Under watering will give yellow dry crinkly leaves.
In other words not a big difference but in your case it looks like you have
not been giving enough water. You did not state in what type of soil this
tree is planted but unless you have good moisture retentive soil then I
guess at the moment you should be watering daily.
I doubt that the tree is a goner but it may be this time next year before it
gets back into a decent growing mode.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thanks

They were ry and crinkly - and got more so the longer I left it
without watering (I figure if it was overwatering, stopping should
make it better). I've given it a good drink now & though it still
doesn't look brilliant, it's much perkier.

Cheers!

greg writes
Hello,

More stupid questions from a completely novice gardener.
We planted a crab apple about a month ago and are not really sure if
it is OK.

A lot of the leaves are crinkly and quite yellow - is it poorly (maybe
over / underwatering? - I've been giving it some water from a watering
can every 3-5 days since we've had no rain recently), or could they
just be the newer leaves coming out?

And how do you tell the difference between overwatering and
underwatering anyway?

If something is in open ground, you're less likely to overwater it,
because any excess water will escape into the surrounding ground.

Watering takes a lot more than you might imagine - a 2 gal watering can
full is a starting point. It is interesting to give what you think is a
good watering, and then check a few minutes later by digging around with
a stick and seeing how deep the water has penetrated - sometimes you
will find completely dry soil under a half inch layer of damp soil at
the top.

The first year is important for watering - after that, the tree will
have had chance to get its roots down deeply, and, depending on where
you are, you may not have to water from the second year.

--
Kay