Sycamore Anthracnose

One (of many) advantage to a dry climate like ours is that it really limits how many plant diseases our trees have to deal with. Many diseases are caused by fungi and favored by a humid climate. There are some here, of course – for example, sycamore anthracnose. 

A fungus causes this disease, which harms the tree in two main ways. It is most active in the spring, especially if we have a relatively wet start to the growing season. The fungus attacks growing tips in the canopy, causing leaves to shrivel and brown just when they should be rapidly expanding with the spring growth push. In a really bad year, the tree may lose its leaves; it does regrow them later in the spring and usually all is well.

In addition to killing leaves, the disease can kill young branch tissue. It kills the tip, causing later growth on that branch to take a zig-zag line as side buds take over. Small areas of bark, cambium and sapwood can also die, leading to cankers – in this case, spots of bare wood where the overlying tissue is gone, with roughly calloused edges. Yuk!

The bad news is that this disease is really common here; almost every London plane sycamore has telltale signs, and there is no effective treatment or cure. The good news is that it alone will not substantially hurt the tree, much less kill the whole thing. Keep the trees healthy (water!) and they will be okay.

Click here to find out more about our Albuquerque tree removal services.