Japanese Beetle infested American Elm
jon3333
12 years ago
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Japanese beetles are all over on my fruit trees
Comments (30)Ace: Look's like you've got me here. The first FAQ indeed mentions control of the June beetle. This is one of those rare cases where product claims have actually understated their real ability to control pests. Oddly, the last FAQ on the list seems to directly contradict the first. This is the first time I have seen a claim that milky spore controls anything other than Japanese beetles. But the news may be better than that, based on experience here in the past growing season after application of milky spore (as I recall) in late June, 2006. The only previous milky spore application I made was around 1979, and the effect indeed lasted nearly 20 years, although it seemed to weaken in the last few years of that period, and I did have infestations of other types of beetles, as well as some increase in JB's. It turns out that the brown beetles I have always called June bugs are really one or another type of Chafer Beetle, which comes in the Masked Chafer, Rose Chafer, European Chafer varieties, and several other related species. The true June Beetle looks more like a Japanese Beetle on steroids, larger and flatter than the JB, but with a similar iridescent green color of the head and wings. This beetle has never been present in serious numbers here, but the Chafers have often defoliated particulars targets of their choice, especially plum trees and sweet cherries, and done quite a bit of damage to other fruit trees and garden crops too. Chafers feed mostly at night, and their season is usually shorter than the JB, but they are no more welcome. This past season, I not only saw no Japanese beetles, but almost no Chafers either, leading me to wonder if the milky spore had some effect on their larvae too. One swallow does not make a spring, and one season is not really a scientific test, but it is extremely unusual for me to go through a summer season with almost no beetles of any kind. One other thing I noticed in the FAQ's is some confirmation of my belief that the JB does not fly far before beginning to feed, and that the effects of the milky spore will continue to enlarge in area so long as there are larvae to infect. This is consistent with my experience, since I have no JB's, but properties only a few hundred feet away still do. It certainly seems worthwhile to put this milky spore down, although I would go with the pure culture that comes in a can, not the bagged stuff for spreader application which has a very low component of active spore. Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA...See MoreDrooping limb on American Elm
Comments (4)rc, without seeing the thing, I'm guessing it's nothing to worry about. Am. Elms, for all their ultimate grandeur, are not especially strong and handsome in youth. Everything just kind of flops all over the place and then ten or twenty years later, there's a big, straight-trunked tree. I personally wouldn't bother slinging the thing up. If the branch pokes you in the eye, or just looks wrong to your eyes, shorten or remove it. You won't hurt the tree. I s'pose this is one case where, if you prune it at this time of year, when elm beetles may be present, you should seal the wound with tree paint. IIRC, Princeton is resistant to DED, not immune. +oM...See MoreGrowing American Chestnut and American Elm out west...
Comments (5)There was also some road work near the tree, although it is hard to believe the whole thing would go down that fast due to an existing informal parking area seeing increased activity. When I first discovered the appalling spectacle there was one small live branch coming out of the trunk, the rest of the 106' x 19'7" x 101' (1993) crown as bare as in winter. Maybe one day somebody with water mold infested mud on their tires drove beneath it, or some infested soil or aged manure was dumped near it. It was between the highway and a farm field. Whatever happened, the thing must have been there for quite awhile before being done in, and had a full canopy until it suddenly didn't. Van Pelt (1996) wrote in his sidebar on it In a species famous for rapid growth, Washington's two record trees have grown to over six feet in diameter in around 100 years...See Moreamerican elm revival
Comments (26)I have several wild American Elm growing on my property near Waco, Tx. I still have at least one of these potted (about 2' tall). IF someone wants it, I will send it to you bare-rooted free of charge up until end of April, except you must agree to post here annually its growth results and agree to at least weekly watering if no rainfall during spring -fall for first year. Our American Elm here appear to be DED- free, but the trees are much shorter than described back east. Our native Cedar Elm appear to be the better choice for here, but the few large American Elm growing only along river and creek beds do look nice. I am not an expert on American Elm, only an interested observer on the western fringes of their territory....See MoreDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years agoarbordave (SE MI)
12 years agojon3333
12 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
12 years agolisanti07028
12 years agoalexander3_gw
12 years agofarmboy1
12 years ago
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