Need help with Ash Tree issues!

14 years ago

Greetings

First post on here. Having some very bizzare issues with ash trees at my property. Need some advise:

- 1st issue - Ash trees (Shamel) at my rental property. Both dropped their leaves last December like normal, starting getting new buds in January, then another frost in February stunted them both. The one ash tree (separated from each other by a good 25 feet) only got half its leaves back. The rest of the brances were like sticks and some split along the horizontal lines. The part that did come back looks fine, although there are some splits on those branches too. I'm trying to keep on water there, should I just prune back the dead branches and hope for the best there?

The 2nd tree, closer to the road, did get its leaves back, with some branches not coming back and experiencing splitting too. Come summer time this year, we had a water sprinkler issue, so i have a feeling both trees got shorted in late May/early June on water. Once that was fixed, come July the ash tree closest to the street turned brown quick but leaves did not fall. Minimal green left on tree. Pruned some branches last week, noticed one of the branches under the bark has almost a "sooty" like component and is jet black. Could this tree have the dreaded Texas Root Rot? This tree's story is similar but quite a bit different from the other tree, so I'm not sure if they are experiencing the same issue here or if either tree is salvagable at this point.

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Comments (4)

Pauly_in_AZ
14 years ago
Hi Zoners. Would be nice to know how old the trees are, and some pics. Thanks.
aztreelvr
14 years ago
Hi Zoners,

Ash trees are easily stressed by lack of water. They have high water needs and would prefer to grow on the bank of a river or stream.

The splitting bark you see could be from water stress or from overpruning which can cause sunburn on the bark. The stress makes the tree vulnerable to pathogens and insect damage.

The dark 'sooty' substance you see is probably Sooty Canker, a fungal disease that enters at pruning cuts or splits that expose tissues underneath the bark. It can be carried on pruning tools or via the wind.

Texas Root Rot (Cotton Root Rot) is also a fungal disease but it is soil borne and travels from tree to tree by root contact. Usually symptoms show up during the summer and the only way you can confirm diagnosis is to have roots analyzed.

Follow the link below and click on the 'disease' section for more information.

Here is a link that might be useful: University of Arizona Horticulture Publications
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Bob Foote
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Wish I could help but I too am having trouble with my Arizona Ash, here in Arizona... It started out the season with beautiful foliage, then I noticed bites taken out of the edges of the leaves, and it continues. I found four grey bugs so far almost an inch long that I identified as an Asian stink bug common pests on fruit and ornamental trees it said, the bug almost looks like it hangs on with strange hands to the branch it is on, I removed the bugs that I found but the problem continues... What bug would be doing this to my tree and what should I do to protect this beautiful tree? Its about eight foot or taller with a span of about six foot, its truly lovely... P.S. I have only found two curled leaves on my tree this year and I removed them... Hoping someone nice can help me of course and thanking you in advance :)
aztreelvr
9 years ago
If the bites in your leaves look like semi-circles, then the culprit is most likely the leafcutter bee. These are solitary bees (don't build hives) and great pollinators. They roll the leaves up cigar-style and use them to line the galleries where they raise young. No need to control. They favor young, tender leaves like those on roses. The stink bugs are usually not a problem for us and don't do much damage. Curled leaves could be from wooly ash aphids (spray with soapy water to control), or from herbicide damage. I hope this helps.