Wet Spring Causing Ash Tree Fungus
If you have an ash tree, you might have noticed it’s not looking so great these days. Some ash trees are losing a lot of leaves – and those leaves might have brown patches on them.
It’s caused by a fungus called Anthracnose that gets a boost from the kind of wet spring we’ve had here in Minnesota.
But the good news is that while it’s kind of ugly, it’s unlikely to hurt your tree. “It’s a nuisance for most of these trees,” says Plymouth City Forester Paul Buck. “It has nothing to do with Emerald Ash Borer. It doesn’t make the tree more susceptible to Emerald Ash Borer. So most of the trees will drop maybe a quarter of their leaves on the lower half of the tree.” Buck says the trees will easily recover from the fungus.
You can expect to see the fungus on other trees, like oak and crab apple, as the season matures. If you want to try and stop it from growing next year, rake the fallen leaves now.
Buck says spraying for the fungus is probably a waste of money, because it would only effect next year’s fungus growth. If next spring isn’t wet, the fungus won’t be a problem anyway.
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