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New tree has black spots on leaves, spores or eggs on the shoot

2 years ago

I have planted two Cleveland Pear trees 7 weeks ago. They were bareroot dormant trees about 5 feet tall. One tree is developing faster, while another one shows symptoms that I need help explaining.

First, there are black spots on leaves and shoots. What does this mean? Is it a disease, or a parasite?

I did remove a small caterpillar from this tree a week ago, which was eating tree leaves. Therefore, some leaves look eaten. Although, I can't tell whether the disease that shows as black spots is also eating leaves. What does it look like? What is a treatment?

The top of the tree:

Second, I see a bunch of egg-shaped things on one shoot. Are these some kind of spores, or eggs that could be from that caterpillar or another parasite? Is there a treatment from parasites that could be applied to a young tree like this? Should I wash these off the tree with water, or apply some treatment?

Here, you can see a bunch of tiny egg-shaped things covering the shoot from the middle to the end:

Here is the caterpillar that I removed from the tree a week ago. It was less than an inch long and had a bark color. If it wasn't sitting on top, it would have blended in with the tree.

Now that I look back at week old pictures, I see that black spots were already there. I can't tell therefore whether leaves were eaten by the caterpillar or by black spots, or both. Again, do I need to treat the tree from parasites?

Leaves are eaten and they also have black spots. The caterpillar is on the top:

Black dots on leaves look to me like caterpillar droppings:

What species is this caterpillar? Is it dangerous to trees?

I'd love my trees to thrive. Please help me to identify the issue with this tree.

Thank you.

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Comments (6)

ymg200
Original Author
2 years ago
Update:

I have identified the caterpillar as:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/181407/bgimage

although it was not the caterpillar that made me worried today.

I used the wet paper towel to remove those egg-shaped dots that I asked about in the above post:

Upon magnification, however, I saw that those dots have legs:

These species are really tiny - the picture is made on the paper towel.

I then kept looking and found an adult species that I identified as aphids:

I bought Insecticidal Soap spray made by Garden Safe and sprayed my trees.

Question remaining: Do black spots on leaves and shoots in my first post look like aphids damage? Is there a long-term protection from aphids?

Thank you.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
No and no, in that order. At certain stages in their life cycle aphids can fly so you can’t keep them away permanently.

You'll find plenty of people on these forums who would be delighted to see Cleveland pears turn up their toes.
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ymg200
Original Author
2 years ago
I got the idea that many people here hate Cleveland pears after I've asked for advice in this forum which trees to plant.

I had two Norway maples that were killed by Virticillium Wilt. It happened to every maple on my street - every of my neighbors lost their tees. Maple would have been my first choice, but the verticilluim bacteria lives in the soil and I was very limited in choice of trees. I have considered every tree that is resistant to verticillium and narrowed down to Zelkova tree and Cleveland. While Zelkova would have been ideal, I hate the look of it and I couldn't convince myself. A neighbor of mine has planted Clevelands and they look gorgeous, so I decided to go this route.

Could those dark spots be Sooty Mold left after aphids?

I have sprayed leaves with Garden Safe Insecticidal Soap yesterday, and ordered this product for further protection:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Garden-Safe-Neem-Oil-Extract-Concentrate-3-In-1-16-Ounces/38754824?comm-msg-vehicle=EMAIL&comm-msg-id=dd366a11-a52b-4485-9092-3c70bfa9d695
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years ago
People "hate" callery pears because a) they are massively invasive; b) they stink when in bloom; and c) they fall apart easily with winds, snow and ice.

There are lots of tree species that are resistant to verticillium so you should not be very limited in your choices. And I would suggest picking anything other than the Cleveland pear!

And no, the black spots have nothing to do with either aphids or sooty mold. They look more like cold damage or necrotic tissue after the caterpillar feeding.
ymg200
Original Author
2 years ago
I've heard these arguments against Clevelands, but (a) and (b) is not what I have observed looking at my neighbor's trees. (c) does worry me, but I was willing to take a risk given no good alternative.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
2 years ago
Weighing up the issues of weakness, smell, disease sensitivity, short livedness, etc are all certainly your choice to accept or reject. They only affect you. However, a), the problem with invasiveness affects the whole environment. So that’s a good reason for rethinking the choice. Looking at your neighbours properties won’t tell you if the trees are invasive. The damage will be done out of sight wherever birds can fly to from your yard. We don’t know your location but these trees are listed as invasive species, ie a danger to natural habitats, in many states.

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