Question
Jim, I have a 5' mimosa tree that was planted a year ago. It survived a winter frost and flowered in early May. I may have made a mistake then and over fertilized. with a crepe mertyl fertilizer not knowing any better. The tree has since lost all its flowers and much of the green leaves have wilted and fallen off. I have been over watering trying to save the tree and now there seems to be a few new green sprouts on the branches and trunk. Aside from the watering is there anything else that I can do to save the tree? I did not realize that fertilizing was actually bad for mimosa trees. Thank You

Answer
I would cut back the watering to every third day and water with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop, Do this for a month then once a week. IF the tree is leafing back out it should be ok. Hardwood tree have the capability to leaf out again after they have prematurely dropped their leaves.
I would lay off the fertilize--trees do not need fertilizer unless they are showing signs of the foliage thinning or yellowing.