Pyracanthus fire thorne

DeboraWeldon

Good evening. Whilst pruning, I noticed brown nodules on some branches of a fire thorne. The branches were brittle and easily snapped. Any suggestions to what the nodules might be. I am thinking maybe woolly aphid? Also how might I treat such a pest? Thank you for any help. 

AnniD

From your description, it does sound possible that it's woolly aphid damage 
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=724
Not something that l have personal experience of, but l'm sure someone can advise. 
Welcome to the forum 

DeboraWeldon

Thank you for the useful information, AnniD. I have cut off some damage and will spray the rest. It was the lack of white that was throwing me but reading the rhs advice it now makes sense.  

Borderline

You can post a photo of your issues. Any brittle branches snapping signals some form of die-back. Are the leaves still green on these branches? 

Pyracantha can suffer from Fireblight which will need you to actively prune back dried brittle branches before it continues further down the shrub. 

Then again, your branches may have some form of scale insect infestation. Normally signalling a stressed shrub in the first place. 

DeboraWeldon

Thank you, Borderline. I will have another look tomorrow and can post a photo. The shrub was mature when I moved here 7 years ago. It has substantial trunks and grows vigorously, and has produced many berries this year. It seems healthy other than ... I will read around the idea of fireblight.