Laura Chaves
Missouri Botanical Garden
Laura ChavesMissouri Botanical Garden
Q: The leaves of my red maple tree have some dark brown irregular spots near the tips, and they’re starting to curl up. What’s causing the problem and what should I do about it?
A: Based on the symptoms you described, it’s possible the tree has a fungal disease called anthracnose. This disease tends to be more prominent in wet springs, which we’ve had this year in the St. Louis area, and can affect other trees including oaks, ashes, sycamores and walnuts. Anthracnose can cause leaves to prematurely drop, but in most cases the disease will fade as temperatures rise in summer. Trees that are mature and otherwise healthy can handle defoliation at this time of the year and will grow new leaves, so no action besides ensuring the tree has adequate moisture and raking and removing fallen leaves needs to be taken at this time. Sanitation measures like raking and removing leaves and fallen twigs in fall and pruning off dead branches once the tree is dormant can help minimize the chance of future infection. If your tree is small, stressed or newly planted, defoliation due to anthracnose can be more detrimental to overall health. In these cases, the use of fungicide as a preventative in spring may be advised. For more information about anthracnose of trees, visit tinyurl.com/46sevh5w.
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Q: The leaves of my red maple tree have some dark brown irregular spots near the tips, and they’re starting to curl up. What’s causing the problem and what should I do about it?
A: Based on the symptoms you described, it’s possible the tree has a fungal disease called anthracnose. This disease tends to be more prominent in wet springs, which we’ve had this year in the St. Louis area, and can affect other trees including oaks, ashes, sycamores and walnuts.
Anthracnose can cause leaves to prematurely drop, but in most cases the disease will fade as temperatures rise in summer. Trees that are mature and otherwise healthy can handle defoliation at this time of the year and will grow new leaves, so no action besides ensuring the tree has adequate moisture and raking and removing fallen leaves needs to be taken at this time.
Sanitation measures like raking and removing leaves and fallen twigs in fall and pruning off dead branches once the tree is dormant can help minimize the chance of future infection. If your tree is small, stressed or newly planted, defoliation due to anthracnose can be more detrimental to overall health. In these cases, the use of fungicide as a preventative in spring may be advised. For more information about anthracnose of trees, visit tinyurl.com/46sevh5w.
Write to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Home Gardening at plantinformation@mobot.org or the Horticulture Answer Service, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110.
Write to the Missouri Botanical Garden’s Center for Home Gardening at plantinformation@mobot.org or the Horticulture Answer Service, 4344 Shaw Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63110.
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