Spotting the signs of the 10 most common tree diseases

Throughout North America there is a range of tree diseases, infections and infestations that tend to show up, some of which can be greatly detrimental to the health and lifespan of a tree. You will notice some overlap between the symptoms, so in many of these cases, it is best to reach out to a professional tree service that can run an analysis and manage tasks such as pruning, trimming, and even tree removal. The majority of tree removal service in Plymouth have seen this many times. If a tree is greatly decaying, sometimes an emergency tree service or specialist is needed to take care of the situation to mitigate any hazards.

1. Leaf Rust

If a tree is affected by leaf rust, it may develop a distinctive orange or reddish spotting on its leaves. Leaf rust is a fungal class of infection. There are over 5,000 different species of rusts that occur in plants. The threats they pose to trees pose varying degrees of risk to the health of trees. They tend to thrive in moderate temperatures coupled with higher humidity. – the germination requires moisture. Most arborists doing tree trimming in Plymouth have ran into this condition.

2. Fire Blight

Fire blight gives trees a burned or charred look, even if a fire has never touched them.
The first sign of fire blight often comes in the form of a light-tan to a reddish color throughout the leaves. It can be a very serious ailment, often causing trees to die. The bacteria tends to spread in an intercalary fashion throughout the vascular tissue in the wood. These issues mostly arise in late spring and early summer. It is important for infected wood to be removed by a local tree service to avoid further spread. Streptomycin sprays can sometimes be used to manage infections during their early stages. However, some trees form a resistance to these types of antibiotics. Nonetheless, the symptoms can be ambiguous, so it often best to have a tree professional inspect.

3. Powdery Mildew

To determine the health of your trees, check their leaves for signs of damage or strange colorations. When the leaves on your trees start to appear dusty or white, this may indicate that you have a

powdery mildew infestation. The spores are often black in color, visible on the leaves of the trees, and are spread by the wind or by water moving and dripping from trees, one leaf to another. To avoid this a tree service near you may be able to treat or offer tree trimming to mitigate the spread.

4. Gall

Gall is actually a type of fungus that prefers to grow on the trunks and branches of mature trees. Galls are relatively unusual to look at, and often have the somewhat deceiving appearance of ill- health. Fortunately, these growths tend to pose no risk to the life span of a tree. These lesions turn into large bumps. They are often caused by insects laying eggs around in and around the surface of trees. Often the soil around an infected tree can pose a risk to the tree’s health for a few years to come, so it might be necessary to have a professional sterilize the nearby grass through various means to ensure future tree health.

5.Witch’s broom

As its descriptive name suggests, witch’s broom is a cluster of broom-like branches and twigs that can pop up in the middle of a tree’s branch. Witches broom clusters tend to occur mostly in spruce, pine, fir, and juniper species of trees. Fortunately, these do not pose a serious risk to the health and longevity of trees, and they are not caused by external factors; it is generally considered to be a genetic mutation. Nothing to worry about here it’s just a problem of appearance. If you don’t like to see these brooms you can have an arborist perform tree trimming and pruning and schedule a follow up appointment with a local tree service just to be safe.

6. Canker

Canker appears as whitish growths along a tree’s trunk. They will often appear as large swellings around sunken lesions near and around the barks of trunks and branches. Cankers can form due to a number of reasons, from biotic fungi to nonliving conditions such as high temperatures or even hail. Improper planting and pruning can also cause these cankers to form. Generally, they are not a sign of anything too serious, just a problem of sight to some. Maintaining good tree health, in general, is the best means of avoiding the formation of cankers as it is within the tree lesions that cankers tend to originate and form.

7. Leaf Spot

Much like leaf rust, leaf spot causes discoloration on the leaves of a tree. Leaf spots are one of the more serious concerns regarding the health of a tree, and these spots are indicative of a tree that is weakening with interruption of the tree’s photosynthesis, often slowing down the rate of growth. A key symptom can be leaves blooming at unusual times compared to the other trees nearby. The other key issue that takes place is leaf loss. Dark brown spots tend to be the most obvious symptom. Strategic pruning can be done to increase the amount of light penetration to assist in the future growth of the tree. It is best to work with your local tree specialist or removalist to help manage infestations.

8. Japanese Beetle

Japanese Beetle also called, Popillia Japonica, affects many different species of plants through the eastern parts of the United States. They were first discovered in southern New Jersey in 1916. Japanese beetles are an invasive species that can feast on the leaves of the trees in your yard. You can identify the Japanese Beetle by looking for its brown thorax. The beetles tend to thrive in moderate temperatures with some precipitation. The beetles are shiny in appearance, and are metallic green in color, and are around half an inch in length. They tend to have coppery-brown wing covers. They tend to feed below the roots of trees, which negatively impacts a tree’s capacity to take in water and nutrients – which also reduces their ability to endure warm weather. Swift action plan of tree trimming, and in some cases tree removal are needed in most of theses situations.

9. Emerald Ash Borer

Tree removal service in Plymouth and Kingston are busy because of this insect. Emerald ash borers are a metallic bluey-green in appearance. Quite an attractive color, almost a glittery-aqua with a shiny, dark purple coating beneath their wings. Emerald ash borers tend to be about half an inch in length. These emerald ash borers often destroy mature trees. They tend to lay their eggs, leaving their larvae to hatch inside the ash of these trees. This is where they create serpentine tunnels, which negatively influence the tree’s capacity to transport water and nutrients throughout its tissues.

10. Bagworm

Bagworms are grub-like insects that feed on mature tree leaves and branches.
Bagworms are known to feed on more than 50 different species of trees and shrubs across the United States. After mating, the females often leave approximately 1000 eggs behind before perishing, and it is in the next spring the eggs hatch and eventually begin feeding on the trees.
The bags that store the eggs are made of silk, and they are often mistaken for pine trees as they are considerably large for the world of insects, often spanning two inches in length; the male bagworms are roughly one inch in size as well. They are brown in color and have a similar appearance to moths. Pine, Cedar, and Pecan trees are some of the most affected species of tree. Insecticides can be used to get rid of such infestations. However, they can often also kill many insects that are beneficial to the trees.

It can be tricky to determine the route of action to take when you start to notice unusual tree symptoms. It is usually unclear to the lay-person what their tree is suffering from, so ideally, you want to have an expert who knows the region to run an analysis of the trees and pests in your area before making any decisions that could be of a greater risk to your trees or even your own health. Trees and branches are often a lot heavy than we expect or guess, so, ideally, you want to have a professional run an analysis before trying to remove any trees on your own.