Is It Mold Or Mildew On The Hawthorn Berries – Cedar hawthorn rust is a serious disease of hawthorn and juniper trees. There is no cure for the disease, but you can prevent its spread. Find out how to control hawthorn cedar rust in this article.
, Cedar hawthorn rust disease is a disfiguring condition of hawthorns and junipers. Although it rarely kills trees, trees never recover from damage. You can prune out the worst of it, but once it affects the entire tree, your only choice is to learn to live with it or take the tree down.
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Is It Mold Or Mildew On The Hawthorn Berries
In addition to rust-colored spots on the leaves, hawthorns can have visible “fingers” of rust from the fruit. The leaves may turn yellow and drop from the tree. Junipers develop woody galls that also have rusty fingers. If you recognize and treat disease early, you can enjoy your tree for many more years.
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By the time a tree has visible symptoms of cedar hawthorn rust, it is too late to save the tree. Focus on slowing its progress and preventing it from spreading to other trees in the surrounding area. Fungal spores that infect additional trees are blown by the wind, so most new infections occur within a few hundred feet of the infected tree. That said, spores have been known to travel several miles. It’s best to err on the side of caution when deciding whether or not to use preventative treatments on trees.
The two-part life cycle of hawthorn cedar rust disease involves both hawthorns and junipers. Infected hawthorn develops brown-red (rust) spots on the leaves and juniper has galls and fingers extending from them. Remove galls in winter to help prevent the spread and never plant junipers near hawthorns.
Although you cannot cure an infected tree, you can prune the infected part of the tree to improve its health and appearance. Remove all branches wherever possible. This not only benefits the infected tree, but also reduces the number of spores that can spread the infection.
The moisture around the hawthorn and juniper trees encourages fungus. Reduce moisture by making sure air circulates freely around the tree. You can do this by pruning. When watering trees, spray directly on the ground instead of the branches.
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Protect the tree from infection by spraying in spring and early summer with an approved fungicide. Both chlorothalonil and mancozeb are registered for use against cedar rust disease in hawthorns. Follow the label directions and spray the tree until the fungicide drips from the branches. Spray junipers with Bordeaux mixture every two weeks starting in mid-summer. Epic Gardening is supported by readers. When you purchase a link on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more
There are several common hedging ailments that can affect hedging of various types. This can lead mainly to discolouration, ruining the visual impact you have worked so hard to achieve with your hedging. In some cases – admittedly rare – it can cause the plant to die. That’s why we have put this article together; so you can diagnose some of the most common problems and treat them. Luckily, most ailments are easy to deal with, especially with a little love and care.
Powdery mildew is a powdery, gray fungal coating that affects a variety of hedging plants, such as native hawthorn hedges. Unfortunately, it is quite common and almost no hedge is fully immune.
However, the condition is actually relatively easy to treat. You can spray the hedge with fungicide, or you can do nothing. It will go away if the underlying cause has been removed.
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Mildew often occurs because the plant is dry. This is because they are weak and are easy targets. The best way to treat powdery mildew in hot weather is by watering. In addition, a long-term solution is to incorporate decaying organic matter into your soil. This allows the soil to hold more water, reducing the stress that hedges can put on during dry spells. A quick-and-easy solution to native hedging is to simply distribute your grass clippings along the bottom of your hedge.
Another reason for mildew is poor air circulation around the plant. This is especially the case for sheltered climbing plants and thick hedging. The best way to deal with mildew in this case is to spray with a fungicide or liberally prune the most exposed part of the plant.
Box blight, unsurprisingly, affects box hedging. Sometimes called boxwood blight, it is actually caused by two different strains of fungi, both of which are believed to lie dormant on dead leaves and produce spores as temperatures rise through the spring.
One of the forms, cylindrocladium buxicola, can be identified by the spots that appear on the leaves, as well as the gray fungus that grows on the underside of the leaves and turns black on the wood. Over time, these spots can become larger areas of dead tissue, causing defoliation.
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Another form of blight fungus, volutella buxi, is commonly diagnosed due to pink pustules developing under the leaves. Most often, this happens in humid weather. The leaves can turn yellow, wither and sometimes the fungus causes the development of cankers on the branches of the plant.
Due to the way these fungi lie dormant, one form of treatment is by raking up dead leaves and burning them, while also disposing of other affected materials (such as branches).
Although there are no garden chemicals specifically for blight, copper fungicides are known to have some effect. Perhaps the best form of treatment, is prevention; planting well, in good organic soil with top dressing of fish and bone, and using fungicide spray in early April can go a long way to prevent box blight. This is especially if you also avoid clipping your hedge in warm, humid weather, because fungi are most active in humid conditions.
Some types of hedging can be bronze. This is the case for hedging yew. Individual plants can be bronze, signifying that the plant is stressed in some way. There are a number of underlying reasons for this.
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First of all, bronze leaves on yew hedges can be caused by wind, as well as other extreme weather, such as hot summers and heavy frosts. This is due to sudden weather changes, so the best solution in this case is to leave them alone – they will soon regain their color.
Secondly, it could be due to hunger. This happens in pot-grown yew plants that are then planted out. This can often be because the soil where they are planted is poorly prepared. For example, the planting hole for the plant may be too small. The best way to diagnose this is to dig up the plant gently; if the rootball is still pot-shaped, you will soon know why this yew is suffering from bronze foliage. Luckily, the solution is pretty straightforward; enlarge the hole, mix in compost and replant.
Third, bronze leaves can arise from root rot. When plants are established, they are very susceptible to phytophthora infection if the soil remains wet. This means that you have to be careful when planting yew hedging in soil with poor drainage. If bronze foliage is caused by root rot, you can usually diagnose this by looking at where the bronzing is. It tends to start where the leaves are attached to the stem. Ultimately, the only solution is to improve drainage; If that is not possible, you should wait until the suffering passes or avoid planting in the same place if the hedge plant dies.
Finally, bronze foliage can occur from ‘unwanted’ organic matter with high levels of uric acid from dogs, cats and ‘you know what’. Stopping animals from using this area for their business will prevent problems and the yew hedge should soon heal.
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While hedging can suffer from some afflictions, most of them are easy to deal with. Bronzing is often appropriate as the yew plant is very tough, good preparation can prevent box blight, and powdery mildew can be treated with good watering and liberal pruning. What’s more, due to their hardiness, hedge plants almost certainly recover quickly.
Author Biography: I’m Julian Bosdari and gardens, gardening and plants have been a lifelong passion. This passion has ended with me owning and running Ashridge Nurseries for over 20 years, during which time we have sold millions of plants to well over 100,000 customers, with free, expert advice as part of the package. Why not come and share my obsession with hedges, trees, roses, soft fruit, flower bulbs and more at www.ashridgetrees.co.uk.
Epic Gardening is supported by readers. When you purchase a link on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Learn more Seven common diseases of hawthorn plants, prevention and control methods are here hawthorn powdery mildew hawthorn blight disease hawthorn rust hawthorn rot disease hawthorn rot disease hawthorn disease hawthorn leaf rot disease hawthorn flower rot disease
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