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Question from Kyle Jensen, Herriman, UT (received 7/16/20) -

I planted this tree 3 years ago.  I live in Herriman, Utah and this tree has been growing well over the last 2 years.  This year the new leaves are not looking good this year.  See photos.  It gets water from the sprinklers 3 times a week and I also water deep once a week   I fertilize with a triple 16 fertilizer once in the spring and once in the fall.

Thanks,

Kyle Jensen

Answer from Dr. Mike Kuhns, USU Extension Forester and Professor (sent 7/20/20) -

This is a London planetree. The trunk has some cankers or dieback caused either by disease or sun. I suggest that you read our factsheet on sunscald. Whatever damage was caused by it is starting to heal though. The curling of the leaves could be from several sources, but what is likely depends partly on the time of year that you took the pictures. If it was in spring it could be due to a fungal disease called anthracnose, though normally the leaves would have spots on them and the disease is mostly done by summer. It looks like it could be herbicide damage and particularly broadleaf weed killer like 2,4-D. If the leaves did not get any worse after the leaves were photographed then I doubt that it will have much long lasting impact on the tree’s health. Leaf problems are only as bad as the proportion of the photosynthesizing leaf tissue that is lost. These don’t look too bad. The damage will go a way after the leaves fall off and next year will start anew.

You likely are watering enough but you do not need to fertilize.

Good luck.