Dogwood Tree Diseases Anthracnose

Kousa and hybrids of kousa and native dogwood c.

Dogwood tree diseases anthracnose. In wet weather these spots can rapidly enlarge and kill the entire leaf. Florida are resistant to anthracnose and decline and should be used to replace dying trees. Apply a fungicide during bud break to protect new flowers twigs and foliage. Dogwood anthracnose infects flowering cornus florida and pacific dogwoods c.

Anthracnose can affect the buds of a tree early in the season before it has grown any leaves. It causes dieback or even death of infected trees. This is a relatively new disease of dogwood in south carolina and it is caused by the fungus discula destructiva. Anthracnose is a term applied to an array of fungal diseases that affect shade trees.

Dogwoods are extremely common in landscapes around the area which causes this disease to spread easily throughout landscape dogwoods and cause disfigurement of foliage each year. The initial symptoms appear as medium to large purple bordered leaf spots and scorched tan blotches. It is caused by the discula fungus. Rake and destroy fallen leaves.

Dogwood anthracnose discula anthracnose. Generally a tree infected with dogwood anthracnose will develop dark spots with a tar like appearance on. Different fungi target different tree species. The fungi that cause it mostly from the family gnomoniaceae vary depending on the tree species.

The anthracnose disease affects flowering varieties of dogwoods like the pacific dogwood. Protect trees from drought stress winter injury and dogwood borer attack. This disease propagates quickly in cool slightly wet conditions that are associated with the late spring and fall season. Anthracnose disease spreads very quickly and it is critical to identify it during its nascent stage.

Sycamore oak especially white oaks maple ash walnut and dogwood are especially vulnerable to anthracnose which may cause leaf and shoot blight defoliation and twig dieback. Dogwood anthracnose discula destructiva is a damaging disease that attacks various species of dogwoods. One of the very common diseases of dogwood trees is the dogwood anthracnose which is caused by the fungus discula sp. Shade trees commonly affected by anthracnose are ash dogwood elm hickory maple oak sycamore and walnut.

The shoots are also killed in this disease. In the past anthracnose was the most serious disease of dogwoods in the landscape and our forests but it is now less common. Kousa is also susceptible to infection but is highly resistant to the disease and typically suffers only minor leaf spotting. Dogwood anthracnose is most severe only in areas of the state that are higher than 2000 feet.