crabapple

Diagnostic Double-Take: Scorch or Scab

  Last Friday, outside our bank in Orrville, Ohio, I espied a crabapple tree with a carpet of brown leaves underneath the tree. On first glance, I imagined this to be due to leaf scorch and then leaf drop due to recent dry weather. After all, we are almost eight inches below normal over the past three months in many northeast Ohio areas. Made sense. I was simply following Question #4 of the 20 Questions of Plant Diagnostics: What Do You See That Looks Abnormal?
Published on
Authors
Jim Chatfield

Crabapple Scab in Ohio

Apple scab disease, caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis, is a common problem resulting in major aesthetic damage to many crabapple types (taxa). However, there is a tremendous range of susceptibility of these crabapple taxa to scab, and this can make all the difference to a landscape designer, a nurseryman, a homeowner, a garden center professional or Master Gardener volunteer making recommendations for plant selection. Got leaves, got ugly leaves, got beautiful leaves – all are options.

 

This is why the International Ornamental Crabapple Society has...

Published on
Authors
Jim Chatfield
Erik Draper
Curtis E. Young

Fireblight, Crabapple, Crablandia. One Strike...

We were out in our Crablandia plots at the Secrest Arboretum of OSU’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster today. One mission was to check for bacterial fireblight disease on the 76 crabapple taxa in our replicated, randomized plot. This spring we had heard of and seen some fireblight, on crabapples and other related rosaceous plants such as pears elsewhere, and we have susceptible crabapples in the trials so why not here? Yet, cultivar after cultivar, early blooming and late blooming types - no fireblight. Wait, wait, we see one shoot with the tell-tale shepherd’s...

Published on
Authors
Jim Chatfield
Erik Draper