Dogwood Tree Diseases Anthracnose

What are the symptoms of anthracnose.

Dogwood tree diseases anthracnose. The fungi that cause it mostly from the family gnomoniaceae vary depending on the tree species. Anthracnose can affect the buds of a tree early in the season before it has grown any leaves. Protect trees from drought stress winter injury and dogwood borer attack. Anthracnose on deciduous trees shade trees commonly affected by anthracnose are ash dogwood elm hickory maple oak sycamore and walnut.

Anthracnose and other fungal diseases that attack trees need water moisture to grow propagate and colonize new hosts. In wet weather these spots can rapidly enlarge and kill the entire leaf. Symptoms are small inch tan spots with reddish purple borders. Kousa is also susceptible to infection but is highly resistant to the disease and typically suffers only minor leaf spotting.

These diseases are less common in warmer regions that have less rainfall. Florida are resistant to anthracnose and decline and should be used to replace dying trees. Rake and destroy fallen leaves. This disease is caused by the fungus elsinoe corni one of the most common leaf diseases of flowering dogwoods.

One of the very common diseases of dogwood trees is the dogwood anthracnose which is caused by the fungus discula sp. The early symptoms begin in mid to late may as leaf spots with tan or purple borders. Dogwood anthracnose discula destructiva is a damaging disease that attacks various species of dogwoods. 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.

In the past anthracnose was the most serious disease of dogwoods in the landscape and our forests but it is now less common. Kousa and hybrids of kousa and native dogwood c. It causes dieback or even death of infected trees. The shoots are also killed in this disease.

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. Dogwood anthracnose is a problematic disease that all dogwood owners must take seriously. Dogwood anthracnose infects flowering cornus florida and pacific dogwoods c. The infection is manifested in the form of leaf spots and stem cankers.

The flower bracts are usually attacked first and then the leaves young shoots and fruit of dogwoods primarily during wet spring weather. While anthracnose can be caused by several different species of fungi the symptoms are the same. The initial symptoms appear as medium to large purple bordered leaf spots and scorched tan blotches.