Viewing post #2916196 by Hoonballer15

I appreciate your replies. I had another person tell me it could be root encirclement, but my question in regards to this possibility was "why would only the upper branches die, and not the bottom"? Your idea of the graft failing is interesting and sounds very possible. It sounds like there isn't much to do if that's the case. Which branches would I was to cut - all dead branches above the healthy ones? Or is there another suggestion on how to trim/tidy what's left of the tree...

Thank you!

Lucy68 said: Mealybugs did not destroy your tree - they don't chew on trees, just suck fluids. Photo #1 is a little too close and I can't really see it in your other photos but I suspect that's the graft. Your JM was top-grafted and part of the graft has failed. There's nothing you can do to revive the dead part but, with some effort, you can save and train what's left - it would be a multi-year effort. I had one break leaving only one branch. With patience and pruning, it turned into a nice tree but it took 15 years.