Is it blight?

  • Posted by Roots-N-Rebels-Farm on September 17, 2023 at 3:36 pm

    I recently bought a few trees from the depot of homes. The day after I brought them home I noticed both of my pears had several leaves that were black and wilted and one pear had a whole limb that was toast. Being new to trees, I immediately hopped on the internet to be scared by the first result I could find. Of course fire blight is the most common thing that pops up for pears so I set to work amputating tree limbs. I resisted the urge to completely decapitate the young trees for fear of killing them but I also fear that I did not get rid of the problem. I am still getting a leaf here or there turning black, wilting, then falling off. The apple and peach that I got at the same time don’t really look all that great either. Could it just be sick trees? Should I bother even putting these trees in the ground?

    Roots-N-Rebels-Farm replied 1 year ago 2 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • MartHale7

    Member
    September 17, 2023 at 4:30 pm

    Looking at how green he leaves are I would consider this ->

    That said, it is very hard to isolate problems. Just after planting a plant it has to develope a new network of bacteria in the roots and adapt to the new soil conditions. Too much water too little water can cause similar issues.

    George Washington Carver used to say that plants are like people some can live on rich fudge for every meal others just need oatmeal to keep them happy. Too much fudge as a diet can make the tree sick just like us.

    https://southsideplants.com/blogs/plant-care/what-happens-when-a-plant-gets-too-much-nitrogen

    • Roots-N-Rebels-Farm

      Member
      September 17, 2023 at 4:49 pm

      That’s good info. Thank you. I still have the trees in the pots they came in and they definitely have a lot of fertilizer thrown in there. If it is nitrogen toxicity, will it kill the tree if I leave them in the pots until later this fall?

      • MartHale7

        Member
        September 17, 2023 at 5:04 pm

        I used to put heavy amounts of urine, and chicken manure around my trees, I then noticed great green leaf growth but it became so green that they seemed to be more prone to fungus. Since then I go out to the leaf line of the tree and put down small amounts of nitrogen fertilizer, you get to watching the leaves and the new growth and it will give you feed back as if you are giving it too much or to little.

        I have learned to look at the new growth to get an idea of how well a tree is doing.

        Rain will dilute the fertilizer over time. However if it is in a container it has no where to go, re-poting may be a solution.

      • Roots-N-Rebels-Farm

        Member
        September 17, 2023 at 11:09 pm

        Well it just so happens that I have three piles of compost that I have been turning for the last two months in preparation for the planting. I’ll do some repotting tomorrow.

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