Phacidium coniferarum

[William Clifford]

Hi, I can't find much information on the above. The owner planted it on the day his mother died so wants to save it if possible! The gardener has been cutting the infected parts off over the years, but it's getting to the point that they are thinking to cut it down. What is the deal with this? Does it live on the tips so could be pruned out? Could it kill the tree eventually? - It has been like this for quite a few years apparently alongside with it being pruned every so often.

 

Thank you.

[Khriss]

Do you have an idea wot time this occurs in the season ? Might narrow it down bug wise ? pity if it had the chop.  K

[William Clifford]

Hi Khriss,

 

It's happening at the moment, I can ask for more details. I thought it was Phacidium coniferarum?

 

Thanks.

[William Clifford]

@Khriss

 

Hi Khriss, just following up on the Cedar from August! The owner tells me that around late Spring it seems that it is the newer needles that fall from the tree and that they continue to fall all the way until the end of summer. It sheds enough that to sit outside they need to clear a load of needles away from one day to the next. 

 

They do have honey fungus in the garden... I don't feel like it's honey fungus though with the fungus and the tree having both been in the garden for years and this shedding of needles in the summer all that is happening to the tree?

 

Many thanks...

[Khriss]

@William Clifford, well all conifers shed to a degree, depends on how much you call a lot ! Are the dying ends more noticeable now ? K

[William Clifford]

It's only a small-ish tree. Maybe 30ft to the tips and a bit of a ball from a lot of pruning in the past. From looking at the tips and the lack of needles, I think that 'a lot' is probably a lot compared to a healthy tree

 

Yes, apparently it hasn't been as bad this year as previous years, but yes the dead ends are more noticeable right now.

[Khriss]

More of a possibility , dead shoot tips pinkish , most Cedars in UK are susseptible ,

 

Sirococcus blight (Sirococcus tsugae) - Forest Research

WWW.FORESTRESEARCH.GOV.UK

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Inforamtion about Sirococcus, its symptoms and occurrence

 

 

May end up being a fell  K

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Khriss
( as you can see Forest Research spelling is also crap........ )

[William Clifford]

Thank you for that Khriss. It does look like it. I'll have a look for more of the symptoms next time I'm in the area. And report it if it is. But yep, looks like a fell I guess if it's confirmed as no control.

[Khriss]

If its not a huge tree,  plant care will give it a few more years, if and this is  a long range, no guarantee  defilade shot  - watering and mulching to give a respite in hot summers, may let the  tree fight back for a while. Upto the point of it becoming  a Hazard tree . Thence fell. K