Mulberry Leaf Spots?

10 years ago

Hello,
I'm new to gardening and to mullberry trees, which we just planted one from a nursery early this summer. It is about 9 ft tall and, grows in full sun. The weather has been dry this summer so I've watered it by hand every few days as needed.

It has been perfectly healthy up until now.
It does not show signs of stress or illness other than suddenly dark spots started showing up on the leaves. They are showing up on both new and older leaves. They look like images I've seen online supposedly caused by fungi of the species cercospora. (for instance a picture here: https://www.ppdl.purdue.edu/PPDL/images/mulberryleafspot2.jpg )

But those are supposed to be prevalent under wet conditions. As I said it is very dry and, when I water, I water the base of the tree. The leaves themselves only get dew and the occasional rain shower. Additionally there is a more diffuse discoloration that looks kind of like rust on the leaves. The weather is turning cooler at night and, perhaps, that is ordinary leave color changes.

Can anyone offer advice on this situation? Thank you so much!

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Comments (5)

Jean
10 years ago
We need pictures of your leaves, please.
benitoshavings thanked Jean
benitoshavings
Original Author
10 years ago
I am still trying to figure this forum interface out, so I hope this works:
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Those are the spots (typical) and they are spreading. I had been trying to keep them pruned back, but I took 2-3 days off after they were mostly gone - since then they have returned (on new leaves and old). I'm pruning them back again. Then tend to be concentrated in three different areas on the tree, with other areas being relatively spot-free.

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Here is a picture of a typical "rust" looking splotch I mentioned. It's not nearly as prominent as the black spots.

The spots seemed to appeared very quickly (over 1-2 day) after a the first two months of being planted, which were spot free. Again the weather has been quite dry, so I wouldn't suspect fungal infections. Apologies for my ignorance, but any information you might be able to share is most appreciated.

If these pictures are not sufficient, please let me know what would be more helpful. Thank you so much!
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
10 years ago
'Can anyone offer advice on this situation?'

Given that it is now September, unless you are in the Southern hemisphere, your tree is preparing to dump all its leaves for the Winter. Key words - 'It has been perfectly healthy up until now.' My advice would be to ignore the blemishes. The leaves have almost done their work for this season and are on their way out anyway. There is absolutely no point in treating deciduous leaves this late in the year.
benitoshavings thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
benitoshavings
Original Author
10 years ago
Nope, Northern. I hadn't seen spots like this before but I've never had a mullberry and I had never been paying that much attention to changing leaves in general before becoming a homesteader this year. The spots started just a little before the nights started getting cool, but not by much. It's as if the trees know the seasons better than we do! :-)
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
10 years ago
It's as if the trees know the seasons better than we do! :-) Of course they do! You haven't evolved over millennia to survive standing outdoors all year round. Trees have. ;-) As you spend more time watching your garden you will become more in tune with what is going on out there. Eventually you will not only see changes but smell, hear and feel them. Enjoy the ride.