canasia.org

The native redbud trees in my neighborhood are dying.  These are trees that have been established for  years.  They seem to have a wilt that takes a few years to kill them.  Does anyone recognize the symptoms? Some branches don't leaf out in the spring.  Some don't leaf out with the rest of the tree, but develop small leaves a little later, then wilt quickly.  Some branches leaf out as I'd expect, then wilt. The dead leaves remain on the tree.  The branches that wilted did not flower at all. Eventually, all the branches dry up and the tree is dead.  It's happened to my trees and in the yards on either side of my house.  Some redbuds are in full sun, some in partial sun, some mostly in shade. We're in northwest Austin, in the hilly area, with mostly red clay soil over limestone.  The various yards have from inches to 3 feet of soil. I want to replace the dead redbuds in my yard, but I want to know what's killing them, so I don't plant something susceptible.  I planted a fairly large cedar elm in April and it died in a month, but I don't know if it was the extreme heat, overwatering,  a soil-bourne disease, or a combination of these.  The symptoms were wilt-like, but I suspect  shock could have the same symptoms.  The tree farm has no suggestions. I have one redbud that seems to be a non-native variety.  It has a different growth habit and different colored flowers. A lanscaped esigner suggests it might be a non-native variety.  That one, of course, is doing OK. Any suggestions?