Dogwood Tree Leaf Diseases
Symptoms of leaf spot disease.
Dogwood tree leaf diseases. These gradually extend to the trunk of the tree with necrotic weeping areas. Leaves are smaller than normal light green and exhibit premature fall leaf coloration. Secondary signs may include cankers on twigs and smaller branches. The infected bark begins to discolor and sap or resin oozes out of it.
This disease occurs only if weather conditions are very wet and humid in the spring. Fungal growth appears on the. There are any number of diseases and pests that can stress your dogwood and cause dogwood leaf drop. One of the very common diseases of dogwood trees is the dogwood anthracnose which is caused by the fungus discula sp.
An especially harmful version of this diseaseis called anthracnose which attacks many tree species including dogwood and sycamore. The anthracnose disease affects flowering varieties of dogwoods like the pacific dogwood. Anthracnose disease spreads very quickly and it is critical to identify it during its nascent stage. It is caused by the discula fungus.
Dogwood anthracnose is the most common disease that affects dogwood trees. The infection is manifested in the form of leaf spots and stem cankers. Dogwood clubgall midge resseliella clavula the dogwood clubgall midge is responsible for spindle shaped swellings near the tips of dogwood twigs. Twigs and large branches die as a canker forms at the base of the tree.
It starts out with blighted leaves showing purple margins and tan color around the edges of leaves. Canker disease generally appears as sunken areas filled with dead tissue on the dogwood s bark. The shoots are also killed in this disease. The initial symptoms appear as medium to large purple bordered leaf spots and scorched tan blotches.
The flower bracts are usually attacked first and then the leaves young shoots and fruit of dogwoods primarily during wet spring weather. Symptoms are small inch tan spots with reddish purple borders. The adult midges emerge in may and the female deposits eggs in new terminal leaves. Positive identification usually requires laboratory diagnosis.
When leaves are falling off dogwood in summer it could mean a serious illness improper siting or cultivation problems. Leaf infections called leafspots are caused by a variety of fungi and some bacteria on many trees. Caused by the fungus discula destructiva anthracnose thrives in moist shade. It is normal to see leaves falling in autumn but you should not see a dogwood tree dropping leaves in summer.
This disease is caused by the fungus elsinoe corni one of the most common leaf diseases of flowering dogwoods. Symptoms begin on leaf borders with purplish blotches that eventually cover the leaf. This disease propagates quickly in cool slightly wet conditions that are associated with the late spring and fall season. The canker slowly girdles the tree.