yodiana:

Perhaps a caterpillar of some kind and minor other damage. Nothing serious so far. If growing conditions are good, it will soon outgrow these issues.

I don't think we can delete posts. Don't fret over it. Maybe you'll get a worthwhile response.

Hello Fruitnut: I thought growing conditions were pretty good until I saw the leaves and ants. Unfortunately I'm having difficulties locating where I read (online) of a pest that sucks/eats holes in leaves. The holes become brittle and round area (spot) falls off (like in the first image?). I'll keep searching and post if I can find it. I'll also keep watch for any catepillars or pests on the tree.

By the way, I met an employee at the Home Depot Nursery this morning that agreed with everything you said about keeping this tree in the ground until winter and how its fine for me to keep in it a 15 gallon pot (with good soil and growing conditions). He owned a Fruit Tree Nursery in his country and gave me a whole lesson on growing Fruit Trees in container. It was great!

I hope this Satsuma will outgrow the issues...

Is there a way to tell if this tree will produce fruit this year? I don't see any buds at all. I usually try and purchase a larger tree (15 gallon) hoping that it will fruit sooner rather than later.

Was I suppose to prune it when I brought it home? Is it too late to do now?

Many thanks!

yodiana:

If you can't see fruit already, there will be none this year. Blossoms occur early in spring. Right now it is probably setting fruit buds for next spring. You won't have to wait long for fruit.

Your tree looks to have pretty good shape. If the top is too tall you could shorten that some. But it's not essential and can be done at any time down the road that it does get too tall.

The leaf holes that die and then fall out could be a harmless genetic condition. Minor damage as shown on your tree is nothing to worry about.

There appears to be more than one problem here but the irregular holes look to me to be an example of a group of conditions called shothole, which can be caused by either fungal or bacterial infection. At this point, you may try an antifungal like chlorothalonil, but the best control is achieved by very late season and very early season copper sprays. You can read more information on this topic by searching this site for "shothole."

creekweb: Thank you for the response. I have read up on "shot hole disease" before and was really hoping that it wasn't that. In the articles I've read, it mentions that the affected leaves would eventually fall off and since mine hasn't done that (yet?); I was hoping it was something else. But after further reading, I'm thinking Shot Hole might really be the case here. I'm not very clear what to do at this point. There are antifungal sprays but it doesn't sound like I can use them right at this moment? This is my very first fruit tree and not sure if I'll be able to tell when its safe to start spraying. Will my tree survive until then?

Also, I just purchased two additional plum trees today and am now worried that they'll get infected too. :(

fruitnut: Since it sounds like I'm going to have to cut the damaged leaves off anyway, do you think its wise if I just go ahead and start pruning now? Maybe make the tree a foot or so shorter?

Here's one of the articles I've read about Shot Gun - http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/problems/shot-hole-disease-fungus.htm

Your tree overall looks pretty good right now, and I would expect it to survive through the season. Many plum trees show a low level of the signs of shothole and continue to be productive. Under some conditions and with some varieties more than others the disease can really take off to the point that the tree stops producing or may die. It is contagious and is spread through rain droplets blown from one tree to another. For now you may try spraying chlorothalonil - this may have some effect if the cause is fungal. At the end of the season when about half of the leaves have fallen from the tree do a copper spray and repeat early next season as the tree is breaking from dormancy. I would say plant your new trees fairly close to the Satsuma (for pollination purposes,) but not so close that the wind driven rain will spread the disease to the new trees.

Thank you VERY much, creekweb! Not sure if this is allowed, but can you please recommend a chlorothalonil and copper spray? Is there a brand that you've used and liked particularly?

Does pollination occur if none of the plum trees have buds or flowers yet? Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm planning to grow the other plum trees in containers and won't move them too close to the Satsuma this season if it isn't necessary (for fear of spreading shot gun). I'm also thinking of putting the Satsuma into a pot this winter (when its dormant). Thank you!!!

In general unless there is some strong reason not to do so, it is better to plant trees like plums in the ground rather than keep them in pots, so although I don't understand all the circumstances which might compel you to do so, I would advise against digging up your Satsuma and would recommend planting your new trees in the garden in the near future. In a bigger planting it may make sense to sacrifice a tree for the welfare of the others, but with mild disease and just a few trees, I would just put them in and then treat them all at the appropriate time.

Chlorothalonil is available in most big box stores and is usually sold under the name Daconil. A number of us on this forum who have more than a few trees apply copper in the form of copper hydroxide, but this can be pricey if only for a few trees and somewhat difficult to obtain, so it may make more sense for you to go with copper bordeaux.

Pollination is the process in the sexual reproduction of plums in which the pollen of one flower is brought in contact with the stigma usually of another, so yes, the trees do need to have flowers for this to occur and is not an issue to be concerned about this year.

To me, the angular lines/tears suggest hail.

@creekweb: I really appreciate your responses and the help of this community. Love that I can Google but having someone address your concerns directly is a huge relief and encouragement.

@jean001a: I've had the Satsuma for about two months and do recall that we had some rain/wind a couple of days after bringing it home. But it was still in the pot at that time and I didn't notice the holes and tears until weeks after. I always thought rain was always good for all plants so I was actually happy about it - now I'm not so sure. But unless it hailed where the tree was originally from, I don't think hail was the problem.

@creekweb: I went and got the Daconil today and was wondering if I should apply it to all my fruit trees, veggies and plants for preventative measures? Or is that a bad idea?

Most of the trees and plants seem fine except my tomatoes have blight really bad (contemplating just burning it). Read the bottle and the only plant that the bottle doesn't offer instructions for are chili peppers.

Its been almost a week since I sprayed the Daconil on the Satsuma (mixed per instructions) and had lots left-over, so I decided to spray my other trees and rose shrubs.

How and when can I tell if the Daconil is working?

The other thing is it left a milky-white residue on all the foliage. I was hoping the residue would eventually go away but it hasn't (yet). Maybe its just me, but I think the residue makes the trees and roses look ugly.

Is the white residue normal? Is there anything I can do to remove it? I'm worried that didn't mix the Daconil properly.

Thanks again.

Daconil does leave a milky white residue and it will pretty much remain on the foliage until washed off at which point its no longer protecting the plant. Thats one thing to be aware of... daconil is a preventative that works by preventing fungus spores from attaching to the leaf surface. I'm not aware of it being able to "cure" fungal infestations that are already present. (Though it is certainly capable of preventing its spread to new surfaces.)

Since you are interested in avoiding daconil's visible residue I might look into another fungicide for your trees and ornamentals. Immunox is one I've used that I don't recall leaving a residue. It doesn't list vegetable crops on the label so I would probably keep using the daconil for them... my own experience is that daconil is great at stopping the spread of early blight and septoria on tomatoes when used on a weekly spray regime (longer if you're in a dry period).

Looking at your images though I'm not certain you need to spray the plum tree unless you are seeing new damage. Most of what I see in the picture I would attribute to weather related damage (possibly heavy rain tearing the leaves) and some sort of chewing insect, possibly a grasshopper or caterpillar.

A good way to distinguish shothole from other possible causes of plum leaf damage is by observing for an evolution of the disease as it progresses from purple brown areas of discoloration to islands of dead leaf tissue and eventually to holes as these islands fall out. All of these stages are apparent in the photos above. Insects and weather will not cause this progression of changes.

The goal in treating an affected tree at this point in the season is mostly to slow the spread of the disease so as to minimize leaf damage and leaf loss to allow for normal growth of the tree. The chlorothalonil may help to achieve this end if the pathogen is fungal; some spray antibiotics if the cause is thought to be bacterial. Later, the copper sprays will more effectively diminish the bacterial or fungal load and perhaps cure the disease.

I think its some kind of bug and wind damage combined. I find all kind of leave eating bugs on my satsuma all the time and it is very sensitive to wind. Some Junes, there are piles of dead June bugs around the base of my tree they love to eat it some much. Even when June bugs are light during certain years, other bugs love to go to town on it. Shothole is usually perfectly round and affects the fruit as well. That discolor could just be lack of nitrogen. Mix that with some minor wind damage and you have your Satsuma.

I only say this because mine looks exactly the same and is part of a double tree with a Santa Rosa graft for two different type of fruit. The Santa Rosa looks fine while every year the Satsuma looks absolutely ragged. But the Satsuma always gives me the juiciest, sweetest, biggest deep blood red/purple Satsuma plums.