My California Pepper tree seems to have suddenly died- is there any way to save it?

Question

I had a large california pepper planted over 8 months ago it had been doing great and growing very fast. It is currently about 10 feet tall. In the course of about 2 days all the leaves have become dry and brittle and the tree looks dead. Is there anything that I can do to help save it? In the last few months we have had some heavy storms (wind and rain) I cannot see any damage to the tree but I did have to re-stake it once when it broke its support stake- could it have sustained damage that is killing it now? Is there any easy way to check for damage with out cutting the tree to much? any help would be great, I can't believe how fast it went from the most beautiful tree on the block to dry and dead/dying. :( very sad

Answer 1

I have a new Pepper Tree, I planted it about 7 to 8 months ago, and it’s about 4 years old. It was doing fine, went through a little shock, and then the leaves started growing back really nicely. I planted it on the North side of my house so, during the winter it doesn’t get much sun. Now it looks dead, all the leaves fell off again. Can I save my tree? I think the cold temperatures and rain and lack of sun is why my tree looks dead. During the summer, the sun will hit the tree for most of the day. Will my tree come back to life during the summer? How do I save my beloved tree? Please help!

Answer 2

My new California Pepper Tree was doing fine until Winter. The cold temp. and rain has caused my tree to loose all of it's leaves and look dead. It's about 4 years old, I planted it about 7 to 8 months ago. Can I save my tree? Will it just come back to life in the Summer? How do I check if it's really dead? Please help.