When it comes to plant health care, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And if you've noticed signs of stress or damage on your trees & shrubs, saving your treasured plants is a time-sensitive matter.
If you've noticed the following issues, your trees & shrubs might be facing imminent danger:
- Spots on Foliage
- Curled or Twisted Leaves
- Dull & Stippled Leaves or Needles
- Spots & Flecks
- Chewed Leaves
- Sticky Substances on Foliage or Bark
- Holes & Tunnels in Hardwood
These signs of damage might indicate a number of potential threats. Understanding potential trouble can be the difference between saving your treasured trees & shrubs, or staring down an eventual (and expensive) landscape renovation.
To protect your landscape, read on to learn more about common signs of tree & shrub stress.
Spots on Foliage
Spots of many colors ranging from tan, yellow, and black can be a hint that there is a fungus among us. In fact, most tree and shrub diseases are specific to the variety of plants you have.
These discolorations will often appear on newer growth, several weeks or a couple months after a period of moist weather.
A lot of plant diseases can be remedied with proactive fungicide treatments. Applying these materials at the right times during new leaf formation can drastically reduce damage from occurring.
Curled or Twisted Leaves
Cupping or distorted leaves and needles can be a clue that there are pests feeding on plants.
Often times, aphids, plant bugs, midges and other pests will feed on the newest growth of plants, causing this damage to manifest. There’s hope for a lot of foliage-distorting pests.
Timely treatments of just the right materials can reduce their populations and lessen the unsightly damage on your plants.
Dull & Stippled Leaves or Needles
Sometimes you can just tell that the color is slightly off. Closer investigation allows you to see that the color loss is because small, discolored, tiny spots have stippled the foliage to make it look dull and less vibrant.
This is often the cause of mites or insects. Spider mites and lace bugs are common culprits of this kind of damage.
Treating plants prone to these pest attacks can help lessen the chances for damage. Some pests may require multiple spray applications while others will be alternatively taken care of with an annual treatment of soil-applied materials.
Spots & Flecks
A group of pests classified as “scale insects” are a common pest feeding on almost every species of trees and shrubs.
Scale insects vary in appearance. Some may be 1/16” long while others will be almost the size of a lady bug. They can range from white to brown and are experts at blending in.
In their largest life stages, these pests don’t visibly crawl and will cling to twigs, stems, and leaves, sucking vital nutrients from plants. Scale insects have a variety of recommended treatments.
Most will require multiple treatments each year and will need an aggressive approach to keep them at a minimum.
Chewed Leaves
There are times where damage is more obvious, showing chewing patterns on leaves. Some cases may leave notches on the outside edges where others will reveal a skeletonizing effect, leaving only the leaf veins.
Chewing damage can occur on both deciduous and evergreen plants. Common assailants are types of caterpillars, beetles, and weevils.
Most chewing insects are active for a short window of time. Applying just the right material at the right times could go a long way in reducing damage.
Sticky Substances on Foliage or Bark
One evidence of an insect culprit is sticky residue on plant leaves or needles.
Certain scale insects and aphids will secrete plant sugars in their excrement. Spotted Lanternfly are also known to produce messes beneath the trees and shrubs they occupy. This substance, sometimes referred to as “honeydew” will attract ants and bees.
As the sticky substance remains on plant tissue, it will often be the medium on which black sooty mold grows. This mold can prevent a tree or shrub from properly producing food for itself through photosynthesis.
Managing the pests that lead to honeydew will prevent this issue from becoming severe. This may require multiple treatments throughout each season for maximum protection.
Holes & Tunnels in Hardwood
Certain species of insects have a larval stage that bores or tunnels within the internal tissues under the bark or within the leaf tissue itself. Terms such as “borers” or “leaf miners” are given to these larvae and they will affect plants of all types.
Some of these pests cause significant cosmetic damage while others are fatal to even the most mature of trees. Each of these pests require specific tactics for control or reduction.
Treatments can be applied as sprays, or soil or trunk injections, depending upon the borers or leaf miners that are active.
Hiring a Plant Health Care Professional
Even if you get really good at spotting these telltale clues, you are likely to get stumped on how to completely solve the mystery. Calling in the help of a Certified Arborist is what it may take to get to the bottom of the matter.
Certified Arborists know these common clues and how they lead to the usual tree and shrub damaging suspects. They can find clues that you may have missed and know exactly what can be done to stop or manage these problems.
With the right care for your trees, you’ll gain valuable peace of mind. If you’re interested in having your trees inspected and their health assured, contact us for a free consultation or give us a call at 833-JTE-TREE.
Image Sources | Maple Damage, Beetle Damage, Needlecast
