Red alert!

Shrimp&Grits

Well-known member
Background: SkHz x AfHz. In a river valley getting about 5-6 hrs of full sun a day. A few weeks ago I checked on her and found a little die back in a few branches. Looked like this.
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I cut the dead out and sprayed a half-dose of neem oil on her, patted myself on the back and left.
Yesterday I went to shore up any flooding we were expecting (and did not get, praise Buddha) and found aggressive spreading of the dead in about a 3rd of her branches. That’s a lot of branches 😬
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Wtf is this stuff and how do I try to reverse its death march? I sprayed full dose of neem before leaving.
Ideally I would like to save the buds and all without using harsh chemicals.
Realistically I want to save what I can using biological controls.
At absolute least I want to keep her alive long enough for her seeded branch to mature if I can’t salvage any buds at all
Any input is appreciated.
 
Low sunlight? High temps? High humidity? Low air circulation? Lots of surrounding vegetation? Black dots or discoloration on stems? Droopy leaves? Fuzz (mycelia) on leaves and stems? Dead branches? @slabsofdank has it dialed in re: fungus. Needs to be treated aggressively as it will kill all in a matter of days. Have alcohol on hand to sterilize your cutting tools after each cut to minimize systemic spread. All dead material taken off site to minimize reinfection. Do not compost this crap. Get rid of it entirely. Soaking horsetail in water for a week and making a foliar from it can be helpful in lieu of chemical fungicides. Spray during time of maximum evaporation. I do prefer stronger remedies though as this stuff is insidious.

🤙
Mu
 
@slabsofdank. Thanks for the quick response and link. Neem isn’t cutting it.
@musashi. “Low sunlight? High temps? High humidity? Low air circulation? Lots of surrounding vegetation? Black dots or discoloration on stems? Droopy leaves? Fuzz (mycelia) on leaves and stems? Dead branches?”
Sounds like you are looking at her with me. Except the black dots. Thanks for your help.
 
I got the goods. I clocked out of work early to go get it. I told them I had an emergency situation that required aggressive attention. 🤫. I did not lie. I never miss work so they didn’t ask any questions.
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Last time I did remove all infected branches from the site.
I did NOT use alcohol to sterilize my pruners. I’ll bring some isopropyl pads tomorrow when I go spray.
Thanks for the read-up and pro tips y’all.
 
"I got the goods. I clocked out of work early to go get it. I told them I had an emergency situation that required aggressive attention. 🤫. I did not lie. I never miss work so they didn’t ask any questions. Last time I did remove all infected branches from the site. I did NOT use alcohol to sterilize my pruners. I’ll bring some isopropyl pads tomorrow when I go spray. Thanks for the read-up and pro tips y’all."

^
I came here to say this but S&G beat me to it! Thanks so much for the tips. I learned about sterilizing the pruners the other day :) Today I read to use a paper towel,etc, with the alcohol and rub the bud where the bud rot was too! Does that work? I need a little help with 'Crazy Jack' before her church spires rot away! :eek:
 
Hey brah!
The short answer is no. Mold is deep seated (in those moist spaces) within the bud, clefts of petioles, etc. and can be systemic. You need to treat aggressively with a fungicide that will get rid of topical as well as be absorbed through leaf hydathodes, etc. Sometimes these critters are already present within seed stock. Subjecting seed to heat or bleach can prepare for healthy seed. Too much N has also been shown to bring an outbreak on. Most importantly, dead leaves and surrounding vegetation can provide an overwintering habitat for the inoculum. My understanding anyway.

Mu
 
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