It doesn’t really matter which is done first, but pruning has to be done in addition to a treatment. If your tree has FB, it should be pruned out completely and then we can look at doing a treatment. Treatment should really only be viewed as a preventative measure. There are lots of good resources online talking about how to prune out FB so I won’t get into it here, but the takeaway is it needs to be pruned out aggressively or it will only get worse. This may mean the entire tree, in which case it’s pretty hopeless, although trees can sometimes live several years or more with extensive Fire Blight infection. Therefore, all infected areas should be pruned out thoroughly and carefully in late summer, fall or winter. I do not believe that Fire Blight cankers can be cured. The best way to manage Fire Blight is to avoid planting susceptible trees Plants not in the Rose family will not and can not get Fire Blight, thankfully. Some cultivars are resistant, some seem to get it no matter what. In particular: Pear, apple, crabapple, mountain ash (but not other types of ash), serviceberry, hawthorn, pyracantha, quince, plum and cherry are all susceptible to one degree or another. Many plants in the Rose family are susceptible. In Northern Colorado, hail is a big problem for susceptible plants. This could be caused by pruning, animal feeding (voles and squirrels), insect feeding (such as caterpillars and borers, probably not aphids and mites), and hail. It can continue to travel down a branch and to the trunk where it forms cankers and builds up enough cells on the surface of the bark to be visible with the naked eye.įire Blight can also enter a plant through any kind of wound on the leaves or bark. From there it travels down the xylem and infects the twig. The usual mode of entry into a plant is through the flowers the bacteria can build to great numbers on flower blossoms and subsequently enter the plant. First let’s cover some of the basics: Causes of Fire Blightįire Blight is caused by a native bacteria Erwinia amylovora that overwinters in plant cankers and is spread by air, insects, rain, pruning equipment and animals. Treatment is often possible when detected early. Fire Blight is a very common problem along the Front Range of Colorado and many people wonder how to treat for it, or if it’s even possible.
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