Garden Pests and Diseases - Diseases
Diseases affect plants of all sizes, from trees to seedlings. A healthy plant given the right conditions should be able to fend off an attack. However damp weather conditions, an old or sickly plant or a closed environment can encourage air or soil borne diseases to multiply and spread.
| Disease | Symptoms | Suggestion |
| Brassica ring spot | Remove the leaves and burn them. | |
| Canker | The bark shrinks and cracks, eventually encircling the branch, often killing the branch. | Remove damaged branches and shoots as soon as you see the problem. Else scrape away the bark to green wood and paint with Arborex. |
| Clematis wilt | Leaves turn brown and crispy from the base upwards. | Prune back hard in early spring, which is best time to prune all clematis. If it recurs the following year, prune back hard in the spring once again, if it reoccurs in the second or third year then dig out the plant and destroy if you want to replant a clematis in the same place remove the soil and replace with new compost. Try replacing it with a clematis wilt resistant plant. Always plant clematis 6" deeper than it was in the pot. |
| Fireblight | Flowers and shoots wilt, leaves look brown and dry as if caught by a bonfire. | Remove bark to reveal a browny-red mark on the bark, remove branch to 60cm (2ft) below this. Wash pruning impliments in disinfectant. Else remove the tree and burn it. |
General notes:
Collect and compost windfall apples and pears to reduce the number of fungi spores that may infect the tree the following year.
