The fungus among us!

Hello all!

All too soon, summer is fading away and we are looking forward to our Fall Plant Healthcare season. With it, we are getting report of leaves turning yellow, and/or brown, curling of leaves, as well as early leaf drop in many different species - some of which are not typically prone to fungal issues. Weather factors are mostly responsible; this Spring, and last, we experienced immense amounts of rainfall over prolonged periods, followed by long stretches of drought and increasing summer temperatures. There is however something you can do to help your trees during this stressful time:

Water! 

Be sure to water any affected trees once to twice weekly - you can adjust this based on any rainfall we get. We recommend the use of a soaker hose, loosely wrapped around the base of the tree. Watering is not an exact science - please use your best judgement as to the amount. It is important to note that you should be watering the soil at the base of the tree, and not the tree itself.

Again, this is atypical of many of the species we are seeing this in, most notably, cherries and maples. We have found Norway maples have been particularly affected. No treatment is necessary, though you’ll want to be sure to clean up the dropped leaves.

Other species however, would benefit from an application of organic copper fungicide. Such species would include: dogwoods, fruit trees (apples, peaches, pears, crabapples, etc), a wide variety of ornamentals, and even cypresses. Should you have any concerns for your trees, please feel free to shoot an email my way to stephanie@tfmorra.com and I would be happy to address them with you. 

Until next time!

Stephanie

maple leaves exhibiting black tar fungus