Tree help

6 years ago

Hi - I have a crab apple tree in the garden (house purchased two years ago) which I think has apple scab .... some leaves mottled with brown turn yellow & fall off. Some leaves crinkle up. Tree loses sap too. Worth trying to save ? Would rather keep as good for shade. Cut back & spray or does it need to go ?

Comments (4)

rachelmidlands
6 years ago
Hi there, it does look like apple scab but it can be saved. Not much you can do about it this year I'm afraid but pick up infected leaves and apples when they've fallen and put in the bin. Next year, in early spring when the leaf buds just begin to show you'll need to spray it all over with a fungicide. Not sure what type or brand but look for something to treat apple scab. You might need to re spray it a few times in the growing season as well but follow instructions. Just remember not to eat the apples when treated with fungicide. Could also be prone to re infection if there's an infected apple tree nearby, the spores can travel some distance.
sianember
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
A better photo would be helpful, all I can see is 1 yellow leaf amongst a bunch of healthy looking ones, leaves do get shed by any deciduous tree - this is what scab looks like:

Personally I'd keep it, you can spray it which would help but you're probably not going to eat the fruit anyway unless you're intent on making crabapple jelly? I have an old Bramley apple tree in my garden, it's completely rubbish, covered in canker but it still has blossom, the apples are still edible & it allows me to grow climbing plants up it so it serves a purpose for me. Taking a tree out of a garden really needs thought as it will totally change the space & as you say, shade is really welcome (unless it's a Leylandii tree, in which case it should be torn out & burnt, possibly with celebratory dancing round the fire...)
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PRO
Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes
6 years ago
Are you sure it's an apple tree? It looks more like a cherry from that photograph.
Lydia
6 years ago
you could check it for scale - little bugs that are tricky to spot as they blend in with bark and leaves. They suck the sap out plants. I found them on my acer tree and after looking at the surrounding bay, cherry and wisteria they had it too (apparently they like woody trees). I picked the bugs off that i could find sprayed the plants with a hose and then sprayed them with bug spray and all the plants are looking really healthy now and the bay tree has doubled in size. Hope that helps.

Tree help

Comments (4)

rachelmidlands

sianember

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Patricia Tyrrell Living Landscapes

Lydia

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