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Dying Fruit Trees

ERBERB Posts: 17

This year 2 of my fruit trees have died on me. My conference pear (has give me abundance of fruit over the past 10 years) started to bud this year but suddenly died back and a apple tree didn't bud or put our leaves this year. A third tree has got a lot of fruit on but very sparce on foilage. These trees are all in a line next to one another. Does anyone know of problems this year? 

ERB

Posts

  • ERBERB Posts: 17

    Hello pansyface

    Some of these symptoms certainly match. I pulled up the 2 trees that died and was able to pull them up root and all with no problems, so the roots were certainly dead, but I must admit I was not looking for any white fungus material around them. I will check this out tonight. Thank you.

  • ERBERB Posts: 17

    Fingers crossed I hope it isn't either. The trees I have are all espalier growing along my fence and my neighbour liked mine so much she has done the same. I will have to ask her if she has any problems.image

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    If there's no sign of Honey fungus, did you have any issues with flooding over the Winter?  If the ground is waterlogged for a long time, tree roots can actually drown and will then rot off.

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ERBERB Posts: 17

    Hi to you both

    I did check for any bootlace threads and I did find some sort of thread but it just looked like fibre from the root. Did is smell of mushroom, not sure, but it did have a smell of sorts. I live quite high up so although we have had more than usual rain fall we have never been flooded. The thing that concerns me is that I have lived here for 20 years and I was told by my neighbour that my garden used to be full of trees and that the previous tenant had had them removed. We have always had mushroom/toadstool looking fungus come through the lawn and have always put it down to the old stumps rotting and nothing to worry about. In about August 2012 I had a greengage tree that was full of fruit suddenly die on me and in April the following year my son pulled this out with no effort at all (root and all) as he was worried that it may fall down. Because of this I think that I will remove the apple tree that I said had lots of fruit on but very little foilage just in case and I may even think about the remaining trees I have on the other side of the garden. Thank you for your help both of you, much appreciated.

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,138

    There are many trees and shrubs that are resistant to honey fungus - the RHS has a list of them here, together with a list of the most susceptible  http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/pdfs/honey-fungus-host-list-march-2014 

    Hope that's helpful image


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ERBERB Posts: 17

    Thank you Dovefromabove.

    I will check some of these out. image

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,384

    Several of us on here have honey fungus in our gardens, ERB, and have to live with it.

    The RHS lists are very useful.  My advice is to dig out as much root as possible from those things which have been killed and certainly never leave stumps as these serve as a home-base for HF.  Regular cultivation of the soil in affected areas seems to help too as this breaks the rhizomes which is how HF spreads to other trees and shrubs.

    You might find this factsheet useful:

    http://www.gov.gg/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=4797&p=0

    Good luck and don't despair!  image

    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • ERBERB Posts: 17

    Thank you

    It is a bit disheartening when there is nothing you can do and just have to sit and watch all these plants dying in your garden and when you think that your garden may be a killer to other peoples pride and joy. I love my trees going along the fences, hate seeing a plain fence so my plant some clematis of something in their place.

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