Tree & Shrub Diseases and Fungus
Depending on the size of the plant and what's infecting it, a fungicide spray or injection may be recommended. Usually, the best time to treat for a fungus problem is early spring before bud break and and then follow up as needed. If you have noted damage done in previous years, your trees may need treated before the visual signs of fungus appear in spring or summer again. Below is some information on some of the common tree and shrub diseases that may effect our landscape.
Anthracnose
Anthracnose affects a wide variety of deciduous trees and shrubs; infecting
stems, branches, leaves and/or fruit of the plant. Symptoms can include:
necrotic spots, irregular dead blotches...
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Cankers
Cankers are dead areas on the branches, twigs, or trunck of the tree between
the live tissue and the bark. Cankers may be caused by disease, fungus,
bacteria or injury to the tree...
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Chlorosis
Chlorosis is a defienciancy of iron in trees and shrubs. Leaves will exhibit
yellowing of the leaf while the veins remain green. Prolonged iron defiency
may result in defoliation, dieback of branches...
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Diplodia
Tip Blight
Diplodia is a fungus that causes tip blight which disfigures pines, though
the Austrian Pine seems more vulnerable. This fungus is not usually fatal
though can seriously disfigure a tree and weaken it...
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Dutch
Elm Disease
Dutch Elm Disease is spread through the native elm bark beetle and the
smaller European elm beetle. As these beetles feed on the elm tree, they
introduce a fungus which spreads...
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Fire
Blight
Fire Blight is a common disease which can infect fruiting trees such as
pear, apple, crabapple, hawthrone, and other related trees. Visually,
clusters of flowers may begin to wilt and turn brown...
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Leaf
Spots
Leaf spot is damage to the tissue of tree or shrub leaves, caused by fungus,
bacteria, air pollution, insects or weather. The damaged leaf will begin
to exhibit spots, ranging in size from...
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Needlecast
Needle cast can be caused by a variety of fungal diseases on trees. The
first visual sign is discoloration of the needle, yellow or light green
spots will appear prior to the needle turning red or brown...
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Oak
Wilt
Oak Wilt affects all species of oaks, including: Red, White and Texas
Live oaks. The fungus is transferred through two ways; underground through
the root system or though insects.
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Phomopsis
Blighting of needles (common on junipers, though has shown up on arborvities
in Northwest Ohio). This fungal pathogen can be misdiagnosed as other
issues as it visually looks like other stresses on trees.
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Powdery
Mildew
Powdery Mildew is a relatively easy disease to spot when it infects trees
and shrubs in the landscape. Although the disease will not kill the plant
outright, it will compromise the vigor of the tree or...
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Rust
Rust can appear in many forms when it affects trees and shrubs, from trunk
splitting galls to orange leaf discoloration. Depending on what plant
is infected with this fungus will determine the visual symptoms...
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Scab
Scab is a common disease on apples, crabapples, hawthorn, mountain-ash,
cotoneaster, firethorn and pears. Apple scab lives on infected leaves
and fruit of the plant and can spread with the spring rains...
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Scorch
leaf scorch appears as browning or discoloring of the leaf margin which
gradually consumes the remaining tissue of the leaf. Bacterial leaf scorch
reoccurs year after year, slowly defoliating...
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Sooty
Molds
Sooty mold is more of a cosmetic problem in trees and shrubs than anything.
It appears as black areas of mold on leaves and needles of the plant (as
well as under the infected plant on drives...
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Sudden
Oak Death
Sudden oak death can infect more than 30 species of plants and spreads
as spores are picked up by rain, wind, insect, animal or mechanical means.
Visually, when a plant is suffering from sudden oak death...
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Tar
Spot
Tar spot are raised black deformations of maple leaves that begin to form
as small yellow or black spots in early summer. The disease is primarily
cosmetic and will not damage the tree, although it can be unsightly.
Verticillium
Wilt
Verticillium Wilt is a soil-borne fungus which can infect a variety of
trees and shrubs. It is difficult to control verticillium wilt because
the host which needs treated is the soil, not the plant nessasariely...
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Fungicides may be used as a preventative or corrective measure; they can work by either preventing or interfering with the germination process of the fungal spores or destroy the fungus outright. Contact fungicides will not be absorbed by the plant’s tissue and will only remain active on the surface of the plant in the location applied. This is beneficial since it rarely leads to the fungi building a resistance against the fungicide since the residual does not last long. Penetration fungicides may also be an option. This sort of fungicide not only penetrates the leaf of the plant (in which it can then travel to other portions of the plant) but may also be used as a contact fungicide. Penetration fungicides can be used to protect new growth from potential fungus attacks.
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Grounds Services, Inc. offers a variety of services for your lawn care needs. To schedule a technician visit and/or receive a free estimate, contact us today at 419-536-4344.
Grounds Services, Inc.
419-536-4344
4730 West Bancroft St. Ste 18 Toledo, OH 43615
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