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Apple tree fungus

dart250spdart250sp Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi there, 
We have an old apple tree that has got a fungus infection, last year I tried to treat it with Hydrogen Peroxide, that seemed to work but it is back this year with a vengeance. Can this be treated or do we have to remove the tree?

Posts

  • nutcutletnutcutlet PeterboroughPosts: 26,160
    fungi generally live in wood that's already dying. could you upload a photo?
  • dart250spdart250sp Posts: 3
    Hi there, 
    We have an old apple tree that has got a fungus infection, last year I tried to treat it with Hydrogen Peroxide, that seemed to work but it is back this year with a vengeance. Can this be treated or do we have to remove the tree?

  • pansyfacepansyface PEAK DISTRICT DerbyshirePosts: 17,062
    I find the photo very hard to interpret. Do you think that the fungus on your tree looks like this?


    If so, the tree’s a gonner.😕
    Apophthegm -  a big word for a small thought.
  • nutcutletnutcutlet PeterboroughPosts: 26,160
    Your tree may live for some time if you leave it alone. H. peroxide will not change things, nor will anything else. It looks much like the one Pansyface has posted or something very similar. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Central Norfolk UKPosts: 63,264
    Agreed ... your tree is in terminal decline ... however dying trees are an important benefit to wildlife if left to decay naturally. 
    “I am not lost, for I know where I am. But however, where I am may be lost.” Winnie the Pooh







  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Leicestershire, UKPosts: 9,674
    Agree with all of the above.  The heartwood of your tree is rotting and what you see are the fruiting bodies.  The tree may live on for many years as the living part of the trunk (a thin layer called the cambium, just beneath the bark) isn't 'eaten' by this type of fungus, which only feeds on dead wood, like that in the centre of all trees.  It will become structually weaker and weaker before eventually coming down, probably on a windy day.  For that reason, if anyone is likely to get hurt or anything valuable could be damaged when it eventually falls, I would take it down now.  As @Dovefromabove mentioned, the rotting trunk is a valuable asset for wildlife though, so if you have somewhere you can leave it on the ground after felling, the ecosystem in your garden will find it of great benefit.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • dart250spdart250sp Posts: 3
    Thanks everyone, I think reluctantly I'll have it felled and replace it.
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