Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction Fertilizing Trees in the Fall

I have many trees (hybrid oaks, persimmon, pears) that are barely thriving due to drought damage and/or pocket gopher damage.

The result is typically that the main leader of the tree has died, but three small lower branches still have leaves, or leaf-bearing suckers from the roots just below ground level have developed as these trees fight to survive.

I did not fertilize these trees this spring, because I considered them to be stressed.

My questions for the forum, as we head into a period of cooler temperatures and a little more rain:

Are these trees still stressed and should not be fertilized, or should I fertilize to get some late growth?

These trees did not have enough leaves to send any substantial energy to the roots this year. Would a flush of leaves to get a little photosynthesis products be a net benefit to the trees, or is my risk of frost damage to the late flush growth too high?

(My soils are generally too sandy, so they don't hold moisture or plant nutrients very well. The healthy trees that I did fertilize in the spring had excellent growth, especially compared to the healthy trees that I did not get around to fertilizing.)

General concensus among fruit tree guys is to not fertilize late as new growth isn't "hardened" before winter and can he damaged via cold.

Yep.

These trees are already damaged. I am trying to figure out what a "tree doc" in the ER would do at this point.

Maybe with the main leaders dead they didn't actually push out that much new growth this year? In that case, there should be some remaining life/sugars in the roots and they will try to come back next spring?

I'm not an ER tree doctor... but I'm currently watering my stressed trees as best as I can. I'll likely water a little in the winter too. My experience is that even when the tops look dead there's usually quite a bit of energy in the roots to start again next yr. As long as there is some green in the twigs there's hope. Brown and brittle doesn't seem to work. I'm also pruning water sprouts and anything coming up below grafts. Good luck to ya!