Every fall, people look forward to seeing the changing color of the leaves. This will generally lead to the leaves falling, only to be replaced after winter. However, you might be concerned if your tree is losing leaves outside of this season. If you have a tree that is losing leaves during the summer, there are a few reasons for this and you need to know what they are and what you can do about them.
A Crowded Canopy
During spring, there are some trees that grow too much. This will lead to an abundance of leaves in their canopy and in some cases, there will be too many leaves for the tree to support. To overcome this overgrowth, the tree will start to shed leaves early to ensure that the branches are not damaged by the weight of the extra leaves.
If the canopy is crowded, your tree may also be losing leaves to conserve water. This is often done in hot and dry climates where there is not enough water to sustain all of the leaves. If your tree is not suffering from a severe loss of foliage, you can remedy the loss by adjusting your watering schedule. Providing the tree with more water may stop the loss, but you need to be careful with this because too many leaves can cause problems for your tree.
Pests And Disease
If your leaves are changing color and falling in the summer, your tree may be infected by a leaf disease or have a pest infestation. Pests and disease can cause the leaves to wilt and drop causing an unexpected loss of leaves. The leaves that fall will generally be the ones that have been infected by the disease or are on a branch that has been disturbed by pests.
To determine if this is the case, you will need to inspect the tree and the branches. If there are holes in the trunk of the tree, you could have a pest problem which is affecting the trees ability to provide nutrients to the branches. If there is any mold or blotches on the leaves that fall, this is a sign of disease and you will need to contact an arborist to determine the disease and what needs to be done.
There Is Something In The Water
Leaf loss during the late summer can be caused by a problem with the water. Too little or too much water can cause your tree to drop leaves prematurely. If the summer has had drought-like conditions, your tree will lose its leaves in an effort to combat the stress that the low water conditions have placed on it.
However, if there has been too much rain during the summer or you have over-watered the tree, the leaves could turn yellow and fall during the summer months. Too much water will suffocate the roots of the tree and this will cause stress which results in a loss of foliage. If you are watering your trees, you need to ensure that you do not soak the soil too much.