American Elm issue

[priest]

I also have an American Elm with problems.
It is a client's tree, and large sections of the canopy have been dying gradually over the last two years. Currently, many of the new leaves have wilted and dried up throughout the canopy.
Here are some pics of the tree and some small branches with the leaf damage that I cut from the tree.
Also, I'm not sure the leaf issues and the major dieback are directly related, as I have not been to look at the tree for 2 years, when it was healthy.
Site conditions seem to have been pretty stable (no construction, trenching, etc.).
I would greatly appreciate any help on the diagnosis.

Thanks

 

[S Mc]

Priest, I would encourage you to take a sample of an infected twig at least 1inch diameter along with a leaf sample into your local extension service for a positive id to what is going on.

What I would want to rule out would be Dutch Elm disease and Elm Yellows. Although I don't believe elm yellows has reached your neck of the woods, I am not sure where "north of old Mexico" is specifically as that encompasses everything north to the North Pole.

These are both diseases that can be fatal to elm trees. The DED will have a brown streaking beneath the bark in the cambial tissue; the elm yellows will have a yellow discoloration (more solid than streaking) and have a wintergreen smell. Also the elm yellows generally will cause a more overall yellowing rather than the individual branch dieback that can occur with DED.

Good luck.

Sylvia

 

[Ed Roland]

Priest, I would encourage you to take a sample of an infected twig at least 1inch diameter along with a leaf sample into your local extension service for a positive id to what is going on.
Good luck.
Sylvia

Vascular wilts are common and can take a couple of years to finish off a tree. Mature trees may compartmentalize the infection and live on for many years. Streaking is evident in a lot of these cases. Along with your leaf and twig samples i would include samples of affected root just in case its a chronic form of collar/root rot.
Follow Sylvia's advice here. Have a pathologist identify the causal agent. Then you can begin a managment strategy.

 

[Mike Cantolina]

Can someone tell me what should be done with the larger wood of a tree with elm yellows? I've read that chipping the brush is not an issue in spreading the disease.

Mike

 

[S Mc]

With elm yellows the vectors are leafhoppers, spittlebugs and root grafts with possibly wind being a factor.

Since the insects involved are succulent tissue critters so keeping the wood should not be a problem. I would not bury the wood.

Personally any time there is a possibility of wood carrying a disease that is attractive to wood boring insects that can then transmit the disease, we recommend covering it in an onsite location. But this does not appear to be the case with this disease.

Sylvia