I've had these for several years, and in the last 3-4 days one of them has defoliated severely and leaves that are left are brown. I suspect a soil borne fungal infection. Just like that, wham!
any comments from the tree experts will be appreciated.
I haven't done anything different to them. Can I use Daconil or should I cut it off before it infects the other two lig. that are planted nearby?
here is a pic of the leaves
another one, showing most of the canopy. BTW, the tree is about 6 ft tall, shaped like a lollipop.
It looks like Anthracnose - a common leaf spot disease which is not soil born. It's ugly, but not always fatal if good cultural practices are followed. Clean up of dropped leaves is essential and increasing air circulation is also advantageous. Can you take a branch to your local agricultural extension agent for identification and diagnosis?
thank you for your help. I does look like anthracnose. I will spray daconil and see if I have any luck saving this guy, even though I have 2-3 wonderful little plants waiting to take over the real estate...
The shrub/tree is probably salvageable, however try to eliminate what you can to prevent repeat infections. Could just be a bad year climatically in your area that facilitated the fungus spread and growth or less than ideal garden cultural practices. Likely, both played a role. Good luck!
Since it is listed as a noxious invasive weed in TX, maybe a good thing if it expires??
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/growgreen/invasive.htm
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/wildscapes/guidance/plants/invasives/
Resin
Whoa! Didn't know that. Thanks Resin
Ditto. Send that disease here!
I have no problems with the wax leaf.I have grown quite a few cultivars for over 40 years and have not seen the first seedling.It is the privet,Ligustrum,sininsis that is taking over the countryside here
I agree Hemental, it is Chinese Privet that is my biggest problem too.
just closing the loop on this mystery:
Hubby felt strongly we should just remove tree. He started sort of shaking the tree and within minutes it practically fell down. He then removed it w/ virtually zero effort and upon inspection noticed the roots were completely rotten. We have determined that a nearby water faucet was leaking directly into the base of this tree and after years, years, of this, it simply rotted and died.
We need to fix the leak before I plant anything else. In my case it is a minor leak, but even then, a steady leak for months on end can wreak havoc w/ trees/shrubs.
