While getting your trees trimmed before the winter can help prevent potential property damage, keep in mind that there are some trees that should only be trimmed between January and March to avoid fireblight.
These trees are species in the pome family, which include crabapple, apple, and pear trees.
In this blog, we’ll teach you how to recognize the signs of this disease in your trees and how ArborScape can help you recognize the signs of this disease to avoid death and decay of your trees.
What is Fireblight?
Fireblight is an incredibly destructive bacterial disease that can spread to the aforementioned trees via rain or wind through any wounds in the tree. It’s even possible for bugs that ingest the sap to spread it where they fly.
While the disease can be controlled, there is no guaranteed cure, and, if left alone for too long, can result in the death of the tree.
Symptoms of Fireblight
Fireblight can cause damage to just about every part of the host tree. Symptoms to look for can include damage in the form of a canker on the tree’s trunk or limbs or even leave behind a scorched-looking effect on branches and leaves that can even look wet at times.
But the easiest telltale sign is that the tips of the branches start to curl in, almost forming what we call a “shepherd’s crook”.
If you’ve noticed any of these issues with your trees, don’t hesitate to get a second opinion from one of our certified arborists here at ArborScape!
We’re happy to head out to your property for a free estimate to examine your tree to check on its overall condition and see what possible options there may be.
How to Treat Fireblight
While there is no cure for fireblight, there are options to try and save your tree.
If caught early enough, our trained crews can go in and trim out the parts of the tree infected with the disease. As mentioned earlier, trimming for these trees should only be done in winter, during the months of January through March.
The warmer it gets, the higher the risk for spreading this disease.
Be forewarned, however, as occasionally fireblight can survive the winter in sunken cankers, which is a dead section on the bark on branches or trunks formed by injuries made by mechanical injuries or colonized wounded tissue.
We can also offer a cambistat treatment that slows down the growth of the tree, which in turn slows down the spread of the disease.
Due to the disease being highly contagious, we also take great care in disinfecting and sanitizing our tools every time we treat an infected tree to ensure we don’t accidentally spread the disease to more trees on another project.
However, when the tree is too far gone, the best option is to remove it rather than waste your money on expensive treatments.
So don’t wait before it’s too late! Call ArborScape today at (303) 806-8733 for a free estimate on winter tree care and get on our schedule sooner rather than later so you can avoid the worst of fireblight.
And if you’re looking for other options for winter tree care, check out our blog for more information.
