Amelanchier doesnt seem happy

Hiya,

Ive had an amelanchier tree for 4-5 years now. For the first to two years it was in the front garden and seemed happy enough. I did up the back garden and moved it there as thought it would be nice. But ever since, at least 2 years, it hasnt really grown at all up top, and the roots keep sprouting, every couple of weeks i pull them out but they always come back. The trunk hasnt really thickened in that time either.
But it does seem to leave ok, flowers well and just had a lot of berries that the blackbirds have picked off. Theres just not very much new shoots or wood growth. I have just taken photos today and noticed some discolouration and spotting on leaves that I suspect might just be the hot weather?

Its in clay soil that has been well turned over around 2-3 years ago when i removed all the leylandii trees, and mixed in lots of homemade compost.
By comparison i have a rowan around 8 feet away that I planted two years ago at half the size of the amelanchier at 4 ft tall with just a couple branches that is loving life and has grown to around 10 ft, and is leafy with lots of berries and the trunk is packing on weight.

Any ideas on why it might be slow growing or deciding to put all its energy into shoots at the roots? Will it sort itswlf out?

Thanks

 

Usually thicket forming shrubs do this when stressed or pruned heavily so its probably a symptom. may be best to let it bush out a bit, idk. This is true for plums at least.

 

Hi,

I am not sure regarding about the growths in the ground, but regarding the rest:

• Yes, the discolouration is mostly a sign of heat stress. Amelanchiers like to be kept well watered, and during hot weather it's sometimes tricky to get it right. I find that it doesn't take much for them to do that (or to get powdery mildew).
• They are much slower growing than rowans and have a different growing habit, so I wouldn't really compare them.
• They like soil which is slightly acidic - could it be that the soil in your back garden is more alkaline?
• The transplant shock will have set it back a bit.

 

I get spotting on some leaves most years, and it isn't really anything to worry about.
You will get shoots sprouting from the base, so just pull those off.
It may just have struggled a bit by being moved, especially if the new site is a bit drier, and was possibly a bit poorer becausse of the previous hedging - especially as it was leylandii. Fence lines can certainly be drier, so just make sure it doesn't dry out through summer months, and mulch well in autumn -and other times of year if you want, and it should be fine.
As long as it's producing new growth each year, and flowering/fruiting, it should be ok. Mine is in a very similar position to yours - clay soil too, but a slightly raised, quite narrow bed. We're fortunate that the climate is cooler and wetter here though, so it's a bit easier with young trees. I also had a rowan I grew from seed which is now pretty large - nowhere for it to go though!

The only difference is that it's bullfinches that take the berries - the blackbirds miss out

 

Sometimes moving suckering plants can encourage growth at the base because they form more on broken roots and it's hard to move things without damaging the roots.
It can also take quite awhile for the plant to establish a new strong root system before it puts on lots of new growth. The shoots at soil level are showing you that it's energy is going into the growth below the soil rather than on top but once it settles down it should grow again. There is generally a 3rd year rule where you see more top growth, so I wouldnt worry to much.