For most of us, we know what a dying
flower or plant looks like but we don’t always know what to look
for in a tree that may be diseased and/or dying. Are you supposed to
look at the bark? The leaves? Roots? All of the above?
To help you make a diagnosis, we’ve
gathered a list of the most common tree diseases to help you
recognize when your tree needs help:
Heart Rot
Disease
As terrible as it
sounds, Heart Rot disease infects many deciduous trees (cedar,
dogwood, birch and maple) that are improperly pruned and left with
broken branches or damaged by fire, animals/insects. Heart Disease is
also caused by fungus that has grown on any open wounds.
What to look
for: Conk or mushrooms growing on the tree which indicates the
presence of fungus.
Powdery Mildew
Disease
Trees most likely
to suffer from Powdery Mildew disease are catalpa, chokeberry,
crabapple and linden – though this mildew is known to attack nearly
all vegetation given the right conditions.
What to look
for: Leaves with white or gray powdery growth resembling talcum
powder.
Canker Disease
Equally terrible
inside your mouth, Canker Disease is commonly infects pine, poplar,
spruce and willow trees. Nectria canker is known to also infect honey
locust, maple and oak trees. Phomopsis canker may attack arborvitae,
Douglas fir, juniper and Russian olive trees.
What to look
for: Blisters on the tree’s bark or branch – much like, well, a
canker sore.
Sooty Mold
Disease
Victims of Sooty
Mold Disease include boxelder, elm, linden and maple trees, though
the disease can attack several trees where a feeding insect
population is present.
What to look
for: Black, powdery coating on leaves and surrounding soil.
Root and Butt
Rot Disease
Stop giggling –
it’s a thing. Root and Butt Rot Disease can infect hardwood trees
at the root and butt (base of the trunk).
What to look
for: Black, leathery fungus spreading up the trunk and sometimes the
presence of mushrooms in the soil at the base of the tree.
Verticillium
Wilt Disease
Verticillium Wilt
Disease is a soil-borne disease that is known to attack maple, elm,
catalpa and stone fruit trees. Especially problematic, this disease
causes tree leaves to turn a lighter color, look disheveled and
wilted – and falling from the branches. Verticillium Wilt is highly
contagious to other foliage through the soil.
What to look
for: Light color and wilted leaves falling prematurely.
These different diseases don’t
necessarily mean that your tree will die and will need to come down.
Many diseases are treatable once the disease is properly identified.
Knowing what to look for in your particular geographic area and
purchasing/growing trees that are resistant to any problematic
agricultural disease, using the proper fertilizer, monitoring the
tree’s light, soil and watering conditions will all help contribute
to a long and healthy life for your trees.
