Many dead leaves and small branches on honey locust tree - Ask Extension
My daughter and son-in- law recently purchased a home in Denver with a large thornless honey locust tree , maybe 30 feet in height, in the backyard....
Knowledgebase
Many dead leaves and small branches on honey locust tree #873031
Asked June 13, 2024, 6:31 PM EDT
My daughter and son-in- law recently purchased a home in Denver with a large thornless honey locust tree , maybe 30 feet in height, in the backyard. It is dropping many dead brown leaves and multiple small dead branches can be seen within the interior canopy. The bark on the main trunk has many vertical slits with the inner bark being more light brown and the outer bark gray. Not sure if this is normal for this variety of locust? When removing some of the lower smaller dead branches we noticed some small light green insects crawling approximately the size of a grain of rice.
Denver County Colorado
Expert Response
The photo of the trunk of the tree looks like a typical Honey Locust--the bark does split and the sections between look gray.
But the twig and small branch dieback could be a lot of things: midges, scale insects, cicadas, cankers or even borers.
Since most of these insects, fungi and bacteria are very small, it would be difficult to see them in the tree from the ground. The small, green insects that you see on downed branches may or may not be involved, it's hard to tell without looking into the interior of the tree.
You should contact a certified arborist, who is trained to look for all these conditions and can get up into the tree to see what is going on. As a pubic institution we can't make recommendations on arborists, but any that state that they are certified means that they have been tested on their knowledge and approved to diagnose and treat tree diseases. A tree trimmer won't be able to help you diagnose what is ailing the tree nor can they treat it legally.
Good luck!
But the twig and small branch dieback could be a lot of things: midges, scale insects, cicadas, cankers or even borers.
Since most of these insects, fungi and bacteria are very small, it would be difficult to see them in the tree from the ground. The small, green insects that you see on downed branches may or may not be involved, it's hard to tell without looking into the interior of the tree.
You should contact a certified arborist, who is trained to look for all these conditions and can get up into the tree to see what is going on. As a pubic institution we can't make recommendations on arborists, but any that state that they are certified means that they have been tested on their knowledge and approved to diagnose and treat tree diseases. A tree trimmer won't be able to help you diagnose what is ailing the tree nor can they treat it legally.
Good luck!
