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What's wrong with my saskatoon/serviceberry

15 years ago

I transplanted a native saskatoon/serviceberry about 7 years ago directly from the bush into my back yard. It took a couple of years to bloom and appeared to be healthy and thriving.

Now for the past 3 years I've been noticing these greenish rust-coloured bumps on the leaves which appear just after flowering. Besides being unsightly they adversely affect fruiting. I don't know if it's insect-related or some kind of disease.

This year I removed all (I hope) the infected leaves hoping to stop the infection in its tracks. But I don't know if it'll help. Does anybody know what the problem is and more importantly what to do about it? Thanks in advance.

PS I consulted the Tree forum and could not find anything specifically related to this problem.

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Comments (5)

northspruce
15 years ago
Maybe something in this article would sound familiar?

It does sound like a rust fungal disease, and according to the article, Quince rust can affect Saskatoons with juniper or cedar as an intermediary host.

Here is a link that might be useful: Rusts
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shazam_z3
15 years ago
Yeah, it's rust. Saskatoons are extremely vulnerable to it. You can try a sulfur spray to mitigate it.
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canadian_daisy
Original Author
15 years ago
Thank you both for your input.

northspruce I checked out the link you provided - although helpful it didn't quite cover the symptoms I'm dealing with so I had to rule out rust as the problem.

So I went searching online and bingo: Serviceberry gall mite. Small globular galls on the upper leaf surface, about 1/8 inch in diameter, usually reddish above and light greenish yellow below. The recommended treatment is horticultural oil to be applied in the spring when the buds are opening. It's too late for me this year but at least I can be prepared for next spring. Meanwhile I'm still plucking off any infected leaf as soon as it appears.
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northspruce
15 years ago
Thanks for the update. Good to know in future. Hope you get rid of it next year.
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shazam_z3
15 years ago
Interesting. I wonder if we have it in Alberta.
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