Leaves die every year in July

[Joe Gallagher]

Hi. I'm new here and don't know much about trees. Maybe someone here could help. My tree, a beech I think, gets attacked/infected every year around mid July and drops all its leaves. Its bare by the time autumn comes. I don't want to cut it down as it has more right to be there than I do. Any advice would be much appreciated.

[Paul in the woods]

To my untrained eye that looks more like a poplar of some sort. (I don't see many so don't take my word for it.)

 

The yellowing of the leaf could be a rust fungus. I would try and clear away all the fallen leaves, from the neighbouring garden as well, and dispose of them. Mulch/water if at all possible during dry spring/summer. The tree looks like it's had a bit of a hard life and the drier summers probably don't help.

[Joe Gallagher]

Thanks Paul. It's probably too late to do anything this year then but Ill do some more research on the rust. 

[Stubby]

I see its hard against a fence . Would this be a neighbor ? and if so are they ok with it or anti tree ?   I say this because of the possibility of it being poisoned . 

[Joe Gallagher]

It's the co-op shop behind. Its their fence as well. God knows what they throw out behind there. I'll pop a ladder up tomorrow and have a look.

[Stere]

Defo not a beech

[daltontrees]

It's a Poplar, likely a hybrid of Balsam Poplar. The infection is the fungal Melampsora rust. Affects Poplar in summer but overwinters on a separate host, usually Larch. Bugger all you can do about it, except perhaps clearing away fallen leaves ofther during summer, and getting rid of lower stem epicormics.

[Paul in the woods]

If it's a balsam popular it should produce a pleasant smell. When I looked up Melampsora I also noted other hosts are dog’s mercury and wild onions and along with larch seems a strange mix.