Crossword Genius

Ornamental tree, one cut back, is to deteriorate (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

relapse

'is to deteriorate' is the definition.
(as in a relapse of a medical condition)

'ornamental tree one cut back' is the wordplay.
'ornamental tree' becomes 'espalier' (type of tree).
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'cut' suggests deleting specific letters.
'back' is a reversal indicator.
'espalier' with 'i' taken away is 'espaler'.
'espaler' in reverse letter order is 'RELAPSE'.

(Other definitions for relapse that I've seen before include "Repeals (anag.)" , "Fall back into illness" , "Pleaser may slip to earlier state" , "Fall back into old ways" , "Decline" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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