Did you notice? Summer began a little while ago, but it began quite late. We had a very wet, cool spring. This year, as the spring continued to hang on well past the official start of summer, we received large volumes of phone calls and email regarding plant diseases. In some cases, these diseases had not been seen on the particular plant in question ever before. Diseases flourished in this cool wet weather and especially flourished when this weather persisted, not allowing plants to dry out. Some of the diseases that were brought to our attention included: Twig Blight on Atlas Cedars, Septoria on Poplars and Cottonwoods, Verticillium Wilt on maples, Shothole (Coryneum blight) on Plums. These were just a few of the many that came to our attention. At this point, Whitworth Pest Solutions and our Tree Care customers whose plants have been affected by these diseases are hoping to continue to get some extended dry periods that will help minimize or even kill some of these diseases and allow plants to recover.
Twig Blight Affecting Atlas Cedar
Septoria Affecting Poplar
Verticillium Wilt Affecting Maple
