dogwood fungus

[Seth Ness]

Hi,

I know next to nothing about gardening, but i have two trees that seem to have some fungus.

the first is a dogwood that has this greenish mold all over the trunk and branches and has a few leaves with black spots, though most look fine. the flowers had brown edges and seemed to die quickly.

the other tree, i don't know what it is, has the same mold on its trunk and branches, though not as much, and has more leaves with the black spots.

I don't think pruning is an option since the stuff is on every branch and trunk

All the fungi i read about seem to affect the leaves first and most severe and not focus on the trunk and branches, so i'm confused as to what this is.

anyway, i'm sending pictures to alt.binaries.pictures.gardens

please let me know what this is and if there si anything i can do to help my trees.

thanks

seth

[e-mail]

[Felder]

Hi Seth. I have had similar problems with my Dogwood. Flowers would drop quickly and the leaves would soon turn a blackish-purple and drop. This year I have been spraying it with a fungicide and it's doing terrific. This spring has not been as wet either. So, I'd say go to a garden center and ask for a fungicide for your dogwood and follow the directions on the bottle.

-Felder

[Mike LaMana]

Sounds like you are lumping at least 2 issues:

1.) The greenish mold on the truck and braches is lichen ( Looked at the pics on a.b.p.g). A primitive 'plant' it is just growing there and does no harm to the tree - it just needs a place to attach. Forget about it.

2.) The black / brown spots on the leaves are probably dogwood anthracnose or septoria leaf spot. These are fungal diseases that might be controlled with fungicides, different cultural practices, etc. They are most driven by weather vagaries.

3.) Brown edges on flowers may be anthracnose or a bacterial wilt - again, these are driven mostly by weather.

Cheers

[john]

We had a similar problem with our dogwood last year and acted too late to save lower branches then. This year we have sprayed the tree when budding and the upper branches seem fine. The lower branches affected last year have very few buds and leaves. My question is, will these lower branches fill out or stay sparse? Should I trim them or leave them if they stay sparse?

Thanks, John

[Bob S.]

I have at least 50 wild dogwoods with various stages of anthracnose. Some of the older trees are a foot or more in diameter. It can start on the leaves, twigs, or a bruised spot on the bark. As it works down the trunk, the bark breaks away exposing the wood. Eventually the whole tree dies. I had a state forrester look at them and he confirmed anthracnose. When I asked what I could do for them, he said "Nothing. Cut them up for firewood." Lord, I hate to lose those old pretty trees, but such is life. I wonder if the dogwoods will go the way of the American Chestnuts.

Bob S.