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I recently bought a potted apple tree from a store and honestly it didn’t look amazing there (and I kinda felt sorry for it).

I took it home and following advice of how online repotted it in a larger pot.

A lot of the leaves were browning already but it does seem to of got worse. Today a lot just fell off. We’ve had a less than great summer here (UK) and I guess we’re approaching autumn but I wanted to check if it was safe to leave the tree to it’s own devices hoping for fresh healthy growth next year or if it needs intervention.

I have been looking at browning leaves here and elsewhere and I haven’t seen any other examples of these black spindly veins I see present on many of the leaves. How concerned should I be? It’s an Idared.

the tree

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  • Do you intend to keep it in a pot or plant it?
    – kevinskio ♦
    Sep 2 at 15:46
  • I intend to keep it in a pot as I have no where I can plant it :( I did some reading online to see if this was doable or not before purchasing
    – David Burford
    Sep 2 at 18:48
  • The "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree" approach to tree buying does not work well outside the comic world. Sad, pitiful tree at nursery is starting at a disadvantage and may also bring new and less than delightful diseases to your other trees/plants.
    – Ecnerwal
    Sep 3 at 15:34

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It appears that the internal chemistry of the seedling has been severely disrupted, possibly by over fertilization. The toxin may still be in the soil, given that you simply potted it up adding new soil. However all is not lost, the plant may be salvageable if there is a clear and clean channel from root to top growth.

If it were in my hands I would remove it from the pot, knock off all the soil, original and the soil you added, get right down to the bare roots by washing off in a pail of water, prune off all the root that looks soft and rotten, and repot in fresh known moist free draining soil. No fertilizer, and then watch for new green shoots. Good luck!

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