People need doctors. Animals need doctors. But what about trees? Many people assume that as soon as a plant, flower, or tree is planted and survives its first couple of Virginia winters, it doesn’t need any more attention. This couldn’t be further from the truth! Like people and animals, trees can fall victim to bacteria, viruses, fungi, and even parasitic insects that can result in sickness and even death. Powdery mildew is one of the most prevalent and damaging tree and plant diseases we’ve seen in Ashburn. The good news is that powdery mildew is easy to spot and can be cured by tree health and wellness experts provided you take action early on in the disease. Growing Earth Tree Care has been providing tree health and wellness services to the greater Ashburn area for many years. Our certified arborists (a fancy word for tree doctors!) are available to diagnose your trees and recommend a treatment plan. You just have to call! As we mentioned above, the key to stopping powdery mildew in its tracks is early detection and treatment. Keep reading to discover the warning signs that this disease may be attacking your trees!

Signs Of Powdery Mildew On Your Trees

• Leaf lesions that turn brown and appeared shriveled
• Fungal growth that appears as white, grayish white or tan colored patches on leaves, buds, stems or young fruit
• Fruiting bodies (cleistothecia) appear as small black or brown specks on the mycelial mats
• Infected leaves often appear chlorotic due to decreased photosynthesis
• Leaf curl
• Leaf drop
• Infected fruit and flowers are often aborted or malformed
• Early signs include small chlorotic spots or blistering on leaves or flowers

Signs courtesy of NCSU

While powdery mildew is fairly easy to spot, getting rid of it can be quite difficult without the help of a tree health and wellness expert. While there are hundreds of DIY remedies swirling around the internet, very few of them can come close to the positive results that are possible with a professional tree diagnoses and fungus treatment plan. While your tree won’t die right away, the mildew will slowly suck away the its nutrients, decreasing photosynthesis, increasing respiration, and increasing transpiration. Without professional help, it won’t take long before powdery mildew completely overtakes your tree, you may soon be calling us for emergency tree removal instead. Be sure to call Growing Earth Tree Care right away!

How To Prevent Powdery Mildew

Preventing this terrible fungus from taking hold on your trees starts by knowing the conditions that allow it to thrive. These conditions include:

• High relative humidity at night
• Low relative humidity during day
• 70-80F (22-27C) temperatures (These conditions prevail in spring and fall)

Unfortunately, Virginia can be very humid, easily giving rise to powdery mildew if you’re not careful. That’s where Growing Earth Tree Care comes in! Our tree health and wellness experts are always available to come inspect your trees. If you suspect that a tree disease is taking hold on your property, don’t hesitate to give us a call!