Did you know that there are dozens of different types of tree disease that can take a toll on the trees outside of your home or business?
From pine tree disease and ash tree disease to magnolia tree disease and elm tree disease, each of these tree diseases can wreak havoc on trees in their own way. You might be forced to take down some of the trees that sit on your property if you don’t do something about it as soon as possible.
The key to stopping tree diseases from hurting your trees is keeping a close eye out for the signs of them at all times. The sooner you’re able to spot problems with a tree, the sooner you’ll be able to spring into action in an effort to correct the issue.
Want to learn about some of the things that you might see when you have a diseased tree on your hands? Continue reading to see the symptoms that will often come along with a tree disease.
Fluid Seeping Out of a Tree
Have you noticed that there seems to be a lot of fluid seeping out of one of the trees in your yard? If so, you might disregard it and choose to believe that it’s perfectly natural for this to happen.
But more often than not, a tree that has fluid seeping out of it is suffering from a tree disease called slime flux. And the problem is only going to get worse over time if you let it be and don’t do anything about it.
In a worst-case scenario, a tree that has slime flux will have excess fluid pooling around the base of it. It might also have dark streaks running down it thanks to all the fluid that has seeped out of it.
You’ll typically see trees that have been affected by slime flux seeping fluid in the spring and summer months. But there is also a chance that you might spot fluid coming out of them during the colder months, too. Whatever the case, you should have them treated to stop slime flux from causing them to seep fluid right away.
Hard Growths Forming on the Outside of a Tree
Do you have cherry, birch, hickory, or maple trees growing on your property? If you do, you might see hard, gray growths forming on the outside of them from time to time when they’re dealing with a tree disease called fomes fomentarius.
For those who aren’t familiar with fomes fomentarius, it’s a type of fungus that grows on these kinds of trees and does damage to them. It appears in the form of hard, gray growths that are shaped like hooves. When you rip them off a tree, you’ll also find that they have tons of white pores on the side that sits up against a tree.
If you ever have a tree on your property with fomes fomentarius growing on it, you’re going to want to get it off immediately. Otherwise, the fungus will continue to grow in the days, weeks, and months to come until you get around to removing it.
Bark Peeling Away From a Tree
The bark that covers the outside of a tree plays a very important role in the overall well-being of it. The bark is in place to provide the inner core of a tree trunk with protection. It’s also designed to ensure that a tree is getting all the proper nutrients throughout the course of its life.
Every now and then, some of the bark on a tree will start to peel away from it and fall off. This is perfectly normal and not something that you should be too worried about.
But you should express some concern if you notice that big pieces of bark are falling off a tree on a regular basis. This could indicate a tree disease and lead to further problems down the line if you don’t do anything about it.
Black Shoots or Flowers Growing Out of a Tree
One of the most common tree diseases in the country today is fire blight. It’s been known to harm more than 100 types of plants and trees.
So, how can you tell if a tree has been stricken with fire blight? Well, for starters, you’ll often see lots of shoots and flowers start to grow out of a tree and then turn black. It’ll serve as a strong indication that fire blight has taken hold of a tree and started to drag it down.
And once fire blight begins to affect a tree, it can be difficult to contain it. The bacteria found in a tree with fire blight will double almost every single hour. This can lead to fire blight completely encapsulating a tree and destroying it before long.
There is, unfortunately, no surefire cure for fire blight, which is what can make it so frustrating for home and business owners. They sometimes have no choice but to part ways with a tree that has fire blight.
But you might be able to get around doing tree removal by pruning a tree with fire blight in the right way. It can stop the spread of this tree disease and restore some much-needed life in it.
Brown Shelves Showing Up Around a Tree’s Base
The aforementioned fomentarius is far from the only fungus that can impact a tree in a negative way. There are also other types of fungi like inonotus dryadeus that can cause a tree to rot if you’re not careful.
When inonotus dryadeus takes hold of a tree, it’ll stop the branches on it from growing at first. But it won’t stop there. It’ll also work its way down to the base of a tree and begin to create brown shelves near it.
Over time, these shelves will start to get very hard and turn black. And when that happens, it’s usually not too much longer before a tree will fall over because of the tree disease that has besieged it. You’ll want to seriously consider taking it down yourself before it reaches this point.
Brown or Yellow Leaves Appearing on a Tree
It’s obviously normal for brown or yellow leaves to appear on a tree in the fall in most parts of the country. This isn’t anything that you’re going to need to get too bent out of shape about.
But if you see brown or yellow leaves popping up at other times of the year, that’s going to be a much different story. It could be an indication that you’re dealing with something called armillaria root rot.
This tree disease can turn the leaves on a tree brown or yellow. It can also kill many of the branches on a tree and cause wilting to occur within a tree.
The good news is that this process plays out very slowly. It often takes several seasons for armillaria root rot to kill off a tree completely, which should give you time to identify the issue and do something about it.
But you should be aware of the fact that armillaria root rot can also harm a tree quicker than usual if it has a lot of insects living in it or if it’s not getting the proper amount of nutrients all the time.
Mildew Ruining the Appearance of a Tree’s Leaves
Every so often, you should take a look at the leaves on the trees on your property and inspect them carefully. If you ever see white, powdery mildew show up on them, it could suggest that you have a diseased tree on your hands.
This type of mildew has been known to appear on the leaves from trees in the late summer when it’s very humid outside. It can destroy leaves and stunt the growth of a tree as a whole.
This is yet another sign of a tree disease that you shouldn’t ignore. If you don’t think anything of the mildew on leaves, it won’t be long before it spreads like wildfire and eventually impacts other parts of a tree.
Who Should You Call to Help You Fight Off a Tree Disease?
Do you suspect that one of the trees on your property might have a tree disease? As we’ve tried to emphasize a few times now, you’re going to need to do something as soon as you can to stop it from becoming a big problem.
Rather than fighting the good fight against tree diseases yourself, you should call on a company like Alberta Arborists to assist you. They can come out to your home or business, inspect your trees, and tell you what you should do with them next.
Don’t Let Tree Disease Take Down the Trees on Your Property
There is no way to ensure that tree disease isn’t going to affect any of the trees on your property. There is always a chance your trees could become diseased at any moment.
You can, however, do something about tree disease. You can look for signs of trouble and contact the professionals to help you out if you ever suspect that a tree might be in bad shape. It could help you save a tree from falling down or having to get cut down and removed from your property.
Find out more about taking care of the trees on your property by browsing through the other articles on our blog.
