On July 18th of 2015 after returning from a short business trip I saw that the innermost leaves had gone brown and yellow, I assumed due to not getting enough water in the brutal Texas 95 degrees Farenheit plus summer heat during the few days I was away.
No matter how much water I gave the tree, it seemed to have stopped growing for the year and any leaf that had even possessed a small patch of yellow became totally yellow, then brown, then fell off.
In 2016 the trunk started to develop the characteristic mottled, flaky appearance. In 2016 (early July) the leaves started turning brown again. To try to halt this trend, I deep-watered for about 30 minutes (at a rate of 1 gallon every 20 seconds) - the whole place around the tree was flooded, but the leaf yellowing and browning continued to advance every day. It didn't look like "bacterial leaf scorch" as there would be dark margins between the brown and green parts (according to the book "Diseases of Tree and Shrubs" by Sinclair & Lyon). Instead, the leaves on my tree had yellow margins.... My wife doesn't agree with me but I think sycamore trees in general (including London Plane Trees) always have a strong smell - kind of similar to stale spit.
On September 4th 2016, the tree looked very unhealthy - once it starts yellowing in July it's downhill all the way from there. Autumn comes in mid-summer for this tree. In early May 2017, this tree leafed out, but the leaves were scarcer and smaller than previous years and the smallest leaves were already turning brown. Looks like autumn now comes in May for this tree - I can't find any reference to this phenomenon on the internet, and every street tree Sycamore I see around the area is doing fine. I am giving this tree plenty of deep watering.
Update: on June 11th 2017 the tree put out new, larger, darker green leaves - perhaps due to the fertilizer I gave it about 3 weeks prior - perhaps infertile soil was the real issue for this tree? On June 16th the new leaves were large, dark green, and completely cupped - as usual, I can't find any mention of this "cupping" phenomenon on the internet. On April 22nd 2018, the tree was doing well. Plenty of fertilizer in advance this time.
On May 20th 2018, the Sycamore had three seed balls - its first ones.
On June 10th 2018 the Sycamore had started yellowing more than ever before. It had been very hot and dry for many weeks, however I had been watering it copiously every weekend and given it lots of fertilizer. I cannot understand why this tree is so sensitive.
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American Sycamore (early July 2020). Perhaps the browning was a little delayed versus previous years?
American Sycamore (end of June 2019)
American Sycamore (July 2018)
American Sycamore (July 2017)
American Sycamore (July 2016)
American Sycamore (June 2016)
Sycamore (2014)
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In spring of 2019 the Sycamore was attacked by "fall web-worm". By the time I noticed and sprayed, three or four branches had been completely defoliated.
By mid August, almost all the leaves turned brown and fell off, joining the several other trees that suddenly did the same thing during the same scorching rainless weeks, despite weekly watering. In July 2022, the Sycamore took a turn for the worse. It was looking so bad, I decided not to put the 2022 picture as the first one on this page, but rather here below. This year I was not able to fertilize and water my trees as frequently as previous years, and as a result, some trees fared a lot worse - looks like this Sycamore cannot survive in my yard without constant pampering.
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