When Disease Calls: How Do Healthy Trees Fall Sick?
San Antonio Arborists have long sought to depict tree life as a mirror of human life. Trees, like humans, require nourishment, care, and a balanced diet to avoid becoming ill from an assault of potentially fatal bacterial and viral infections that can be transmitted by airborne or vectored vectors (wind, birds, insects, and tools).
People should be aware of the illnesses that might infect their trees.
Let me tell you a not-so-uncommon tale about how a once-healthy tree becomes infected with a serious bacterial illness.
Excellent Intentions
Throughout a spring weekend, Mac saw that branches from his Bradford pear were hanging close to his roofline, giving both him and his insurance company anxiety. He decided to have his landscaping crew clip the pear back from the roofline when they arrived to mow the yard and hedge his bushes on Monday.
On Monday, the landscapers arrived, unloading their equipment for the weekly service. When Mac contacted Bobby, the foreman, he was met with a "no issue" attitude.
An extension ladder, rusted power hedgers, an old pole pruner, and a set of dull loppers came in no time. The roof was cleaned after a few cuts. Mac was pleased and rewarded the workers an additional $40.00 for their efforts.
Problem solved, Mac reasoned.
Wasn't it...
Spring gave way to summer, and summer gave way to fall. As Halloween approached, Mac began arranging his yearly terrifying outside display. A scene in which a ghost flies down from his chimney to the same pear tree manicured by his landscapers in the spring was included. Mac was climbing his A-frame ladder to tie it to the tree with a cable in hand when he observed what seemed to be charred branch pieces on the trimmed side of the tree. The more he examined, the more they appeared to have been burnt with a blow torch.
Mac shrugged his shoulders, not giving it a second consideration. He peered around the tree after attaching the line and climbing down the ladder, but he didn't notice any other vegetation with a similar appearance anyplace else. However, as he looked over to the pyracantha hedge that stretched around the front of his house, he observed a similar scorched appearance on the tips of the branches. He was now bewildered.
A Disease's Transmission
So, what exactly happened?
When Mac's landscapers arrived at his house that spring day, they had just finished removing pyracantha and crab apple from another property that had been afflicted with a bacteria known as Fireblight.
Bacteria clung to their pruning instruments. When the same instruments got into contact with Mac's tree and bushes, they were diseased.
Every day, stories like these occur.
How to Lower Your Risks
So, how can we avoid situations like this?
First, we must be aware of the many tree and shrub species that exist, as well as the illnesses that they can suffer. Looking for that information is quite simple in today's Internet age.
Second, if you employ someone to care for your trees and shrubs, ensure that they are knowledgeable about illnesses and enter your property with sterilized instruments. You'd be shocked to learn how many so-called 'professionals' don't know the first thing about illnesses.
We recognize that it is impossible to safeguard your property from illnesses spread by the wind, birds, or insects. However, by doing the following steps, you or your expert can lessen the danger of infecting your trees and shrubs*:
Disinfect your tools if it's a virus or viroid.
Disinfect your instruments if it's a vascular fungus or bacterium that causes gushing cankers.
Avoid cutting active, gushing cankers; instead, wait for them to dry.
If you're pruning precious plants, make sure your equipment is clean.
Select a disinfecting treatment that has been shown effective in published studies.
You wouldn't allow a doctor to touch you or your family with an unsterile tool, so why should you treat your trees and property any differently?
Tree Trimming San Antonio
1700 Jackson Keller Rd. #704 San Antonio TX 78213
(210) 985 1760