'nother ? for Treeguy

[bearb8er]

Hey tree we have a weeping birch that's got some kind of worm inside the leaves. Sis thinks it's called a leaf miner. Any way tp get rid of them?

Thanks man
bear

[TreeGuy]

Just home from pub. Tree drunk. It is leaf miner. Spraying doesn't work. Usually does not kil the tree. Crap.................drunk. Talk tomorrow..............

Tree

[Tundra Monkey]

[Reeves1]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

Just home from pub. Tree drunk. It is leaf miner. Spraying doesn't work. Usually does not kil the tree. Crap.................drunk. Talk tomorrow..............

Tree

I just had to quote ya to save that one !

[TreeGuy]

Well, it officially tomorrow. Tree no feel so good. First time out with Mrs Tree in nearly a year. 0 for 3 against #4 ranked Canadian 8 ball player although I managed to get within the 8ball once (tough when you're seeing double).

As for leaf miner on birch, don't worry about it. You can't spray because they live within the leafs, and the membranes will prevent the insecticide from killing the little buggers.

A systemic insecticide can be somewhat effective as the tree ingests it through the root system (think an imunization shot).

Otherwise, do everything you can to boost the tree's health. For the most part, a heathly tree is capable of either fending off or weathering anything that gets thrown at it. A tree with a compamised system will be vulnerable to attacks. Particularly birch. They are highly prone to aphid infestations, minors and bronze birch borers (they take out the tops).

Water the absolute sh*t out of it! Birch love tons and tons of water. However they love good drainage too. Weird. Anyway, water, water, water. Go to a garden center and get a systemic insecticid and follow the instructions. Water, water, water. It'll work. Just before the frost sets in, water, water, water! If you can get the root system locked up in a block of ice, its a really good thing. It keeps is dormant for the entire winter, and it is a bit slower coming out in the spring, which is good because it keeps the tree from facing any of spring's litte tricks like late snows and late frosts.

Other than that, the miners are usually minor. Most bugs exist in a sysmbiotic state with their hosts. If they killed their tree in short order, they too would die along with any eggs they've laid. Kindda pointless from an evolutionary perspective, eh?

Good luck, and I hope that this is more helpful than my last post. I'm going back to bed, my head hurts!

Tree

[BIG AL]

Another question for ya Tree. I Have a tree in my front yard. Not sure of the variety. Leaves are during purple and it has purple berries. Anyway, it has black fungus looking crap on alot of the branches. Is there anything a guy can do to get rid of them?
Thanks,

Al

[220swifty]

Sounds like a shubert chokecherry. Cut off the affected branches and burn them. I am sure tree will know more than me, but when i farmed them, thats how we dealt with it. You burn it to prevent the spores from spreading to other trees.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Originally Posted by TreeGuy

Just home from pub. Tree drunk. It is leaf miner. Spraying doesn't work. Usually does not kil the tree. Crap.................drunk. Talk tomorrow..............

Tree

Thats hallarious I really like the added touch of
CRAP......................... DRUNK .
Your an alright guy .

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by BIG AL

Another question for ya Tree. I Have a tree in my front yard. Not sure of the variety. Leaves are during purple and it has purple berries. Anyway, it has black fungus looking crap on alot of the branches. Is there anything a guy can do to get rid of them?
Thanks,

Al

Hey Al, Swifty nailed it. Schubert Chokecherry. Fungus is called 'Black Knot'. Like Swifty said, cut it off and burn it. It's really contagious and really common in cherries. It usually only hits the tips of the branches which isn't really that big a deal. But if it starts to develop on the main stem, you could have problems. I've actually had a really high sucess rate of just using a sharp knife and carving it off of the trunk. So long as you don't cut the bark all the way around, it should work. Good luck!

Tree

PS ..........and YES I am hungover, but helping my son catch his first every freshwater fish makes it alllllllll good man!

[Kanonfodder]

Tree my gaurentted hangover cure...ice cold shower followed by 2 big bottles of powerade or gatorade.....good luck man.....bwahahahahahahahaha

[BIG AL]

Thanks Tree/Swifty. I'll start the amputation process. I hope it works. It's a big beautiful tree in our front yard.

Al

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by Kanonfodder

Tree my gaurentted hangover cure...ice cold shower followed by 2 big bottles of powerade or gatorade.....good luck man.....bwahahahahahahahaha

Thank God that Gatorade is on sale 2 for $4! Went through like 6 liters today and my urine stream now looks like a skittles commercial!

Al, you'll be fine, man. Just be really through. Even after all these years I still miss the odd piece. Take your time, make proper cuts and for Christ's sakes DON'T fall out! It hurts...........trust me.

Perhaps take some pics and post 'em so we can all see the before/after process. Any other questions please, please ask. I am more than happy to help!

Tree

[bearb8er]

Thanks Tree! We are seeing quite a few dead or dying birch around town and were concerned that this was why. Didn't want to lose the tree.

Thanks again

[TreeGuy]

Originally Posted by bearb8er

Thanks Tree! We are seeing quite a few dead or dying birch around town and were concerned that this was why. Didn't want to lose the tree.

Thanks again

Bearb8ter, RARELY do minors take out a tree! They are also extremelly prone to aphid infestations, another insect called the Bronze Birch Borer that attacks from the top down, and drought. Usually its a combination of factors the kill birch.

They love LOTS of water, but with good drainage. If they're in a highly clay-based area, they can drown.

We've lost at least 7000 municipal birch in the past couple of years here in Calgary. Primarily the European Paper Birch variety, although some of the Cutleaf Weeping Birch (betula pendula gracilious............sorry, favourite latin name ever) have had some dieback also.

Now this is just my theory simply through observation, so take it with a grain of salt. Birch, like natural maples have and extremely pressurized vascular system (their veins). If I make a cut on one previous to them being in full leaf, they will bleed sap at an astounishing rate.

Now, you combine that with their shoot tips being very, very fine, then you have a tree that is just asking for winterkill...........especially in the Chinook Belt.

Water, water, water is your best bet with the mature ones. Hopefully this helps a bit. Otherwise, they make great firewood!

Tree