I have a mature Mountain Laurel that had a bunch of dead limbs (presumably left-over from the winterpocalypse 2021 storm, it was like this when I moved in)
I cut off all the dead stuff I could find and some of what I cut off had some form of white mold growing from the inside out (see 2nd photo)
The bottom of the trunk seems to have bark significantly peeling off (3rd photo)
Parts of the tree seem fairly healthy but wondering if it's just a matter of time before the tree dies off given the internal mold? Also it's become extremely leggy in the areas a lot of dead limbs were removed, leaving it looking really ugly, any advice on how to shape it?
by Cloud_Dwelling
2 Comments
I am by no means an expert on mountain laurels but I can tell you that my family ranch out in Wimberley has two huge mountain laurels by the front gate and every five years or so my dad would just hack them the the ground for no apparent reason whatsoever. They would spring back with a vengeance a season or so later and be back to their pre-cut height in like a year or two. I’m not saying that’s the best option here because personally, I prefer the gnarly look of old wood trunks, but if there is an infection of some sort higher up, it might benefit from being hacked back. Again, not a lawyer or a doctor, just a son of a mad man so take that as you will.
Do you have a close up of the white stuff? It looks like it could be powdery mildew or even scale