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What is wrong with my tree, and can I help it get better? #870018

Asked May 24, 2024, 10:11 PM EDT

Hello. I believe this is a magnolia tree, it is 2 years old. It started turning colors a week ago. Is it some kind of fungus? Can I treat it? Any help is appreciated.

Washington County Oregon

Expert Response

Hi and thanks for your question and pictures of your poor tree with a quite spectacular fungus. The tree actually looks like a pear tree as I can see a couple of small ones in the pictures. With that in mind, this looks like the worst case of pear trellis rust I have ever seen.

The best suggestion is to remove the tree, as there is no home treatment and it would be expensive to have a professional treat it every year. This rust needs a nearby juniper plant to complete it's life cycle, so if there is a juniper in the vicinity, that is your other vector of the disease.

I'm so sorry this is not better news, but this is a new disease in the last 10 years here in Oregon and there just hasn't been a cure yet.
https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease/pear-pyrus-spp-trellis-rust-european-pear-rust
Rhonda Frick-Wright Replied May 28, 2024, 12:08 PM EDT

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