Dogwood Tree Leaf Disease

The infection is manifested in the form of leaf spots and stem cankers.

Dogwood tree leaf disease. It is believed to have started in the northeastern united states about 25 years ago but has been spreading southward ever since. It is about 3 8 inch long blue black with two yellow bands around the abdomen and resembles a wasp. Symptoms are small inch tan spots with reddish purple borders. The adult is a day flying clearwing moth.

The disease appears as small leaf spots surrounded by a purple border and or large tan spots on the leaf margins. Fungal diseases can ruin the look of the tree and in the worse cases the tree will not survive. This disease is caused by the fungus elsinoe corni one of the most common leaf diseases of flowering dogwoods. Dogwood blight also known as dogwood anthracnose for the fungal pathogen that causes the disease is a fairly new problem.

The dogwood trees are flowering now but not every owner can look on them with pride this spring. The flower bracts are usually attacked first and then the leaves young shoots and fruit of dogwoods primarily during wet spring weather. Updated november 29 2017 leaf infections called leafspots are caused by a variety of fungi and some bacteria on many trees. Warm dry weather will curtail the disease.

An especially harmful version of this diseaseis called anthracnose which attacks many tree species including dogwood and sycamore. The initial symptoms appear as medium to large purple bordered leaf spots and scorched tan blotches. Fungi are the main causes of dogwood tree diseases. On affected trees leaves remain on the tree throughout winter.

It is caused by the discula fungus. The anthracnose disease affects flowering varieties of dogwoods like the pacific dogwood. Many are sick and others have died. It most frequently attacks trees that are stressed or injured.

The shoots are also killed in this disease. Leaves are smaller than normal light green and exhibit premature fall leaf coloration. The dogwood borer is the major pest of dogwood. It is normal to see leaves falling in autumn but you should not see a dogwood tree dropping leaves in summer.

The canker slowly girdles the tree. There are any number of diseases and pests that can stress your dogwood and cause dogwood leaf drop. When leaves are falling off dogwood in summer it could mean a serious illness improper siting or cultivation problems. One of the very common diseases of dogwood trees is the dogwood anthracnose which is caused by the fungus discula sp.

Twigs and large branches die as a canker forms at the base of the tree. Positive identification usually requires laboratory diagnosis. The trees are in trouble. This disease occurs only if weather conditions are very wet and humid in the spring.