Homeowners that live in regions with 4 distinct seasons have grown used to witnessing changes in leaves’ color in early autumn. What can cause concern is the appearance of yellow leaves during the summer.

Could pests cause that mysterious disappearance of the leaves’ expected color: green?

Insects might be eating the sap in some of the leaves. The sap carries each leaf’s nourishment. If a leaf fails to obtain the necessary nourishment, it turns yellow. Arborist in San Jose know that there might be larger pests, such a gophers living under the ground, in an area that is close to the trees with the strangely colored leaves. Their presence could place a stress on the roots. Stressed roots do a poor job of directing nourishing substances up towards the tree’s branches.

Are diseases produced by pathogens responsible for the discoloration?

Picture what would happen if any leaf became covered in mildew. That covering would keep sunlight from reaching the leaf’s surface. In the absence of sunlight, the cells could not make the green-colored cellulose. Certain pathogens have the ability to clog a tree’s vascular system. That is the system that is supposed to carry nutrient-rich fluid to every part of the tree. Deprived of that fluid, a leaf would be expected to turn yellow.

Did environmental factors contribute to the color change?

Perhaps the soil in that one area had become depleted of a specific mineral. Like the human system, the system that brings life to a tree relies on the introduction of certain minerals. Alternately, the affected plant might reflect the effects of a drought. One further possibility would relate to the temperature. High temperatures can place a tree under stress. Like stress on the roots, the temp-related stress could cause the leaves to turn yellow.

Did the gardener make a mistake?

Did the gardener fail to irrigate at the edge of the tree’s canopy? That is called the drip line. If a tree’s trunk served as the gardener’s target, then the act of watering that same trunk could not have proved of much value.

Did the trees not receive enough water? Sometimes a municipality places a restriction on the amount of water that each household can use. Experts have suggested saving the water, when someone waits for the water to warm up, before taking a shower.

Did a gardening effort mistakenly expose the trees to a hidden hazard? Maybe some type of fertilizer was used on the plants in the garden. Perhaps it contained a chemical that affected the trees’ leaves. Maybe rainwater carried that particular chemical from the garden to the tall, branching plants in the yard.