Foliar Diseases

Foliar diseases, such as leafspot and anthracnose, are common in spring, impacting many species including dogwoods, sycamore, cherry, crabapples and hawthorn. 

Foliage diseases will likely be severe again in the spring.  Here are some things you can do to reduce the impact:

• Rake up and destroy fallen leaves and dead needles that may accumulate within the crown of conifers.
• If the crown of the tree is very dense or shaded by other trees, pruning to thin a dense crown or raising branch levels on adjacent trees will improve light and air penetration into the canopy and help reduce new infections.
• Perform a soil test and provide optimum nutrient levels.  This will help suppress certain foliage disease and facilitate recovery should infection occur.
• Apply preventative fungicide treatment to trees that were damaged last year. Treatments should begin as new growth develops and be repeated during the spring as growth expands.  Certain diseases may require additional treatments in summer to maintain suppression.