elm disease

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I think this is an American Elm. It's growing strong but it appears to have a disease. I have noticed the same on most elms I see in this area. The tree was collected about three years ago and has always had this disease, which could be why two branches died back over the winter. I know these trees are tough but is there something I can do to treat the problem? I tried to research elm diseases on the internet but I still can't tell what it is exactly. A fungus is what I'm leaning toward.

Anyone have any information or experience with this? here are two pictures, best I could get.
there are light colored spots that turn into bumps and get darker over time.

d1.jpg
d2.jpg
 

Beng

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To me that looks like insect damage. Maybe some kind of mite.
 
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I think it could be mites. whatever it is, I removed all infected leaves. now I will just keep an eye on it. is there anything I can spray it with to keep them away if it is mites?
 

rockm

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Might be fungal. A closer look at the soil and location might help. Could also be insects...
 

PaulH

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I'd try a broad spectrum systemic that gets both fungus and insects and feeds the tree. Its applied directly to the soil and absorbed by the tree.
 

Poink88

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Mine have much worse (leaf gall) caused by insects :mad:. Removing the damaged leaves doesn't help, IMHO it is better to pinch or prune the bud it is on (mine are always on new leaves/buds) to force back budding and ramification.

Like this (not my pic)

View attachment 33991
 
Last edited:

rockm

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Given the extremely cold spring we've had, I would tend to see this as a fungal problem. It simply hasn't been warm enough for long enough for a lot of insect activity. All bets are off, though, in the coming days, as the heat speeds them up.
 

JudyB

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Mine have much worse (leaf gall) caused by insects :mad:. Removing the damaged leaves doesn't help, IMHO it is better to pinch or prune the bud it is on (mine are always on new leaves/buds) to force back budding and ramification.

Like this (not my pic)

View attachment 33991

That's what I meant, gall, not canker... (doh!) One of my 4 elms gets galls, but the rest do not. It only shows up early spring, and I've always just cut them off. It never causes any problems, and seems to be less every year.
 
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I had an elm that kept getting leaf gall which I would trim off and it would come back. Until I realized it had some scale going on. I slip potted and gave it a little bayer 2in1 rose systemic and haven't seen the symptom come back yet.
 

Beng

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The gall may be caused by a mite called Eriophyes cerasicrumena. Perhaps a beneficial nematode treatment to the whole tree would solve it.
 

TimD

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Gall?

This seems to be similar to the problem I have with a Siberian Elm.
 

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I'm still having no clue as to what's the problem, however, just to let everyone know, after one diluted treatment of the Actinovate culture, the tree has completely cleared up and is showing zero signs of infection. I did remove all the leaves that looked infected at the time of treatment. I'm of the belief that the problem didn't just go away on its own but that the Actinovate actually helped. I will be keeping an eye on it but I just wanted to share. If anyone else out there ever tries this product I hope you at least PM me with your results. thanks
 
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