Dogwood Tree Disease Powdery Mildew
Join virginia tech plant pathologist mary ann hansen as she discusses common plant diseases in virginia.
Dogwood tree disease powdery mildew. This disease is caused by the fungus elsinoe corni one of the most common leaf diseases of flowering dogwoods. The flower bracts are usually attacked first and then the leaves young shoots and fruit of dogwoods primarily during wet spring weather. We are recommending that you spray at least 6 hours prior to a rain. These are systemic fungicides as are bayleton and cleary s.
Prune out dead limbs that might be harboring fungi but do not trim infected. A related but different fungus phyllactinia guttata can also be found on diseased dogwoods in kentucky. Powdery mildew is a disease which is common on many ornamental trees and shrubs including dogwoods. The infection is manifested in the form of leaf spots and stem cankers.
They are generally host specific. Symptoms are small inch tan spots with reddish purple borders. There are many powdery mildew diseases on many of the different plants that we grow but they don t go back and forth across the different species. Deprive powdery mildew of excess succulent dogwood growth to feed on by avoiding fertilizers with high nitrogen content.
Powdery mildew is a powdery white to light gray colored fungus that will grow on succulent stems leaves buds and flowers. The white powdery growth observed for most of the season is the white mycelium and plant pathology fact sheet. Young plants and new growth are usually more severely damaged than older plants leaves or branches. The shoots are also killed in this disease.
The initial symptoms appear as medium to large purple bordered leaf spots and scorched tan blotches. Banner maxx rubigan and eagle have provided better control over previously recommended fungicides. Powdery mildew usually attacks dogwood from mid to late may until frost in tennessee. In the southeast powdery mildew on dogwood is known to be caused by two different fungi microsphaera and phyllactinia.