tree leafing out at base but not on top

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guosui Bakersfield, CA May 01, 2009

After two months of shyly refusing to leaf out, my Snow Queen apricot tree has leafed out abunduntly from nodes just above the semi-dwarfing root graft but has yet to leaf out on top. Does anyone have an explanation for this? I think I should just let it keep its lower leaves until it gets the courage to let loose from its upper nodes, but I'm wondering if it's just the proximity to the vitality in the roots that accounts for this behavior?

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NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS(Zone 8a) May 01, 2009

I expect the top portion of your tree may be dead. Have you tried gently scraping a little of the bark to see if it's green underneath? If it's not, the tree will not ever grow right. I would return it and request a refund or exchange.

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guosui Bakersfield, CA May 03, 2009

I scratched the bark near the top and it's green underneath, so I guess it's just going to be a late leafer. What I don't understand from your reply is how anything could be literally half dead, since the leaves are from above the graft. Is a sort of progressive necrosis, so to speak, possible so that a tree can die off slowly from the top down, if I get your drift? Is it like a rose that can have a black cane with no leaves yet have other green ones with leaves?

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