Tri-colored Beech Tree Problem

I have two tri-colored beech trees. One is at our city house and was a 12 year specimen when we planted it over 5 years ago. It has grown and is healthy with no problems. I knew it was too large to move to our new house up north so I purchased a new tri-colored beech for the new house. It has been plagued with aphids since I bought it. I have treated it both with Sevin spray and with the granular systemic insecticides. It seems to kill the aphids temporarily, but they keep coming back. I don't understand why one tree never gets aphids and the other tree seems to get them constantly when they are the same tree ........ just different locations.

I finally got frustrated this past weekend and pulled all the leaves off the tree and sprayed it and also put my systemic crystals into the base and watered it well. I sucked up all the infected leaves with the lawnmower and disposed of them. I hate to think I'm going to have to treat this tree constantly for the rest of it's life. Does anyone have any other suggestions for ridding this tree permanently of aphids? Would treating the whole lawn area around the house help? Has anyone else heard of this being a big problem for this variety of tree?

Both houses are in Zone 5 .

Thanks for any input.

Perhaps your insect infestations are only a symptom of another underlying problem. Trees are not all blessed with the same genetic vigor and no two sites are the same. Trees that are just limping along can lack the vigor to produce the metabolic compounds that help them fight off insects and disease. First, make sure cultural conditions are right for the tree. There are way to many things to list that can affect the o/a vitality of a plant. Salt run-off from drives/sidewalks, leaching from new concrete, weed killers, chemical/nutrient imbalances, deficiencies, or too much of any one of a number of elements in soil, too much/little water are a few. Anything that causes the tree to struggle or grow under stress will have an effect on the health, including insect attack.

Getting the soil tested, thinking carefully about any adverse conditions and correcting them, supplying the proper nutrients & the right amount of water will return the plant to growing nearer its potential genetic vigor and the insects will likely look for a weaker plant to attack.

Al

Hi Loon,

My parents have a very old European Purple Beech (Fagus sylvatica atropurpurea) infront of their house. They use systemic on the Woolly Beech aphid religiously as long as I can remember. When they see a cloud of aphids, they apply the systemic to the trunk. The systemic has recently been taken off the market so my parents are "up the creek without a paddle". After reading a bit about it online and from my own observations, it has alot to do with trees in the neighbouring area. I know there is a large tree near my parents where the owner does nothing and the aphids often reinfested my parents tree. The culprit in your case is probably a tree or trees close-by that are not sprayed so the pest is not kept incheck. Here's a few links that may shed a bit of light:
http://www.cs.umb.edu/~alyons/efg_web/grim.html
http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0705/woollybeechaphid.asp

And here's a few potential biological control from the UK: http://www.greengardener.co.uk/aphidhedges.htm
http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/aphids.htm

I have a particular fondness for the Tricolor Beech and wish I could propagate it. It's got such a nice appearance in dappled sun where the sun highlights the other colours in the leaves where you look up into the tree.

Just like any pest, management including observing, trying new things and the health of the plant itself makes it a whole lot easier. Good Luck! Mike

Thanks so much Mike and Al for your responses and helpful information and links. I forgot to add that I just purchased this tree this year and it came in with the aphid problem. The nursery that I bought it from and who came and planted it gave me some systemic and spray to treat it with right away. Periodically, I would check the leaves and it stayed clean most of the summer. I guess I got busy and forgot about it for a while and when I checked it had the wooly aphids all over the underside of the leaves. That is when I started pulling the leaves off and treated it.

The tree in question is in AuGres and on 28 acres...........20 of which are woods. I have no idea if any of the trees out there are infected. We have mostly healhy looking ash trees. Not for long I'm sure once the dreaded ash borer finds us. :(

I guess I will put the tree on a regular systemic treatment as long as I'm able to find it. Perhaps I should stock up on it. It is not planted near any concrete and is in soil that is topsoil for about a foot or more and then sand and then clay. My healthy beech in the city is in clay. Maybe that is why it does so much better. If this tree doesn't make it or proves to be too much trouble to keep going I'll just replace it with another variety of tree. I will miss it though and do love it. It was a very costly tree as well.

I have one growing in the front garden (in Bay City) that is in its 4th year now & just starting to take off. I worked at my neighbors home during the garden walk last year. His garden has tons of interest & variety, but I fielded more questions about the Fagus s. than any other plant in the yard and garden combined. They are indeed a lovely tree. I also have a Fagus s. form purpureo-pendula (weeping purple beech) that promises to be a striking specimen.

Where are you in Au Gres? I had 80 A. north of you on Turner Road that I sold in '95, so I'm familiar with the area & know lots of folks up your way. In fact, I'll be driving through there tomorrow on my way to Tawas for a morning estimate before heading west on M-55 to Prudenville.

Small world.

Al

Hi Al,

We bought this place in AuGres two years ago for a retirement home. We are located on Gordon Road. It leads out to Point AuGres. Gordon is just off of Santiago. We love it up there. We are in the process of selling our city house in Garden City down state and will hopefully be in AuGres permanently soon. We go up weekends now lugging more and more stuff. It's amazing how much you can accumulate. The first thing I moved though was my garden plants , statuary and about a million cement cottage blocks. Whew! Getting too old for this stuff.

Stop by some time if you're in AuGres. Would love to have visitors and meet new folks up there. Our son just bought a real fixer upper over on Delano Road if you know where that is. He is a master plumber and is starting his own business.........just as soon as he can fix his house up. :)

We almost bought a house and 40 acres on Turner Road about 3 years ago. It just needed way too much work for us. Someone did buy it though and fixed it up nice.

What kind of estimates are you giving? My son is looking for furnace installation estimates and I'd love estimates on installing chain link fence around my future vegetable garden site. :) You know those pesky deer and how they like to eat everything. :)

I forgot to mention, I also have a purple weeping beech at the city house that I would love to dig up and move but am afraid I might kill it if I do. It's been planted there about 5 years and is still on the small side but it's right by the drive and I think it may have roots under the cement. Darn it. I love that tree too and it's very healthy. I wish I could dig up all my trees and move them but I can't. I sure hope it helps sell the house. :)

I own a glazing contracting business (glass company) in Saginaw. I was up your way earlier today to measure shower doors at a new home between Alabaster & Tawas & then on to Prudenville/Houghton Lake to measure a storefront for a remodel.

I have relatives that live on/at Pointe AuGres.

Funny day today. I'm usually very keen on spotting all manner of wildlife while on the road. Deer usually like to move in this cloudy, misty weather, but I drove about 250 miles total w/o seeing a single deer. Very unusual.

If you're intent on moving the purpureo, It shouldn't be too difficult with a little preplanning, which would commence with a partial root pruning right now in preparation for lifting it in spring. Let me know if you want to relocate it. Having lifted some very old tree material for bonsai, I have a good working knowledge of both the tree and the methodology involved in moving it. I am working with a Berberis thunbergii (a species of barberry that forms a fat and gnarly trunk) lifted in spring of '04 that was just over 55 years old when lifted. It was an original foundation planting at a credit union built in 1950.

Good luck with the trees.

Al

Thanks for the offer Al, but I am hoping we sell the house before spring and I can't remove anything from the yard once the For Sale sign goes up. I guess I can just take a picture of it to remember it by. :)

Bow season for deer has started so maybe the deer are hiding on you. :) We have tons of them in our woods. I have 7 apple trees and they love to come up and eat them. My son said he saw about 20 turkeys crossing the yard yesterday. I wish I could have been there to see them.

I have planted two cherry trees and a pear tree and a lot of English walnut trees down by the woods and in the woods. I hope to plant a couple peach and plum trees next year if I can find a good variety for that area. I've also planted about ten maple trees and lot of other ornamentals. It is so much fun to finally have room to plant what I want to.

I've had my heart set on a calcupta (sp?) tree and found one in the woods at work. I'm taking my shovel and digging it up tomorrow (with permission) and planting it at the farm. I'll probably be dead and dust by the time these trees mature but someone will appreciate the efforts I think.

I heard on the news tonight that the dreaded ash borer bug is now in the upper pennisula. I think the state has given up trying to fight it. I know it's just a matter of time before it hits our woods. I have so many beautiful old ash trees too.

Maybe I know your relatives? I've had a number of locals doing work for me. Lynch just dug me a big fish pond. He's up on the point. Small town. Everybody knows everybody or is related to them. :) I love it. You'll know my place if you come by. My house has the white picket fence all the way around the house with the big flower bed out front. :)