Two tough gardening conundrums, no easy answers
Multiple potential causes for stresses in buckeyes and deformities in tomatoes
QWe have two 12-foot Ohio buckeye trees beside our driveway, about six feet apart. Last year the leaves on one of them suddenly started turning bright red in August, and soon all were red, and then they fell off. The other tree stayed perfectly green, eventually turning yellow as normal. It happened again this year, and I can’t see what the problem could be. Their conditions are identical, and if it’s some tiny pest at work it would surely spread to the other tree. Last year we took out the nearest Cotoneaster, which we thought might be crowding it, but that hasn’t helped. What on earth could be wrong with this tree? Any ideas?
AFrom your description my first reaction is to think that the tree with the early leaf drop is under stress. Trees whose leaves change colour before others of the same type are usually stressed in some way. That stress could be caused by a lack of water, too much water, overcrowding, lack of sunlight, hot temperatures, nitrogen deficiency or insects, to list just a few examples.
Ohio buckeye trees can also be fussy about drainage — a welldrained soil is a must for them to be happy. Now, is it likely that two trees six feet apart have different drainage? It’s not likely, but not impossible either. These trees are susceptible to leaf scorch if the planting site is too dry. They are also noted for being a tree that drops its leaves well before other trees do.
I recall a problem when I had my landscaping business where the client could not figure out why his birch tree kept dying. He kept planting new birches in the same spot, and every two years they would just die. It turns out the trees were planted near a sewer line that had a leak in it. Inside the house they had a problem with drains plugging on a regular basis, so they used Drano regularly. The Drano was leaching into the soil and killing the roots.
Having said all that, it is very much a guess as to what the problem really is. If the issue is a lack of water or too much water you can control those variables. You can also try fertilizing the tree, addressing a potential issue related to lack of nitrogen.
It really is a process of elimination to see if the possibilities can be narrowed to identify the root cause.
QI love reading your column every week. I find the advice useful and very topical. I had a problem this year with my tomatoes, many of them were deformed into all sorts of strange shapes. I have never seen the problem as extensive as it was this year. Do you have any idea on why this was?
AThe problem sounds like ‘catfacing ’ — a physiological disorder of tomatoes that results in the deformity. The reason it is called catfacing is because the abnormal cracking and deforming of the tomato looks somewhat like a cat’s face. The plant tissue develops abnormally, affecting the ovary or female sex organ. This results in the flower being deformed, as well as the fruit.
The exact cause is unknown and could be caused by any number of factors, but there does seem to be some evidence of the main cause being environmental. Temperatures below 60 degrees Fahrenheit (16 degrees Celsius) for a number of successive days when plants are immature (about three weeks prior to blooming) appear to coincide with tomato catfacing fruit deformity. The result is incomplete pollination, which creates the deformity.
There is also some evidence that excess nitrogen in the soil can contribute to the problem, and can actually cause physical damage to the blossoms. The problem is usually more prevalent on larger fruited varieties.
Unfortunately there is little that can be done to control the problem besides trial and error to identify the cause. Growing varieties that historically have been resistant to catfacing is one possibility, or you can also monitor how much nitrogen is applied as well. Good luck and happy gardening.