A Day at Plant Clinic

featured image:  Clematis bitalba

submitted by Mary Ann

We had another clinic day of clients trickling in, pretty much one at a time, so we never felt overwhelmed. As usual, we got an interesting variety of questions, but we all laughed when a client walked out with a diagnosis of Apple and Thorn Skeletonizer for her apple tree and another walked in with exactly the same signs (and the same bug) on his apple tree’s leaves. It sure would be easier if that happened more often!


I was stumped by weird lesions on an apple branch that somebody left with Sally, but Randi nailed it as Burrknot, a genetic thing where clusters of potential roots burst out all over the branches and trunk of the tree. None of us had ever heard of it before.

Jere brought a whole bag of weeds from the rain garden she is working on, and Stephanie went to work and identified pretty much all of them. A man came in with more weeds to i.d. and the assistant to the weed guy was there at her desk and chimed in. The most interesting was Clematis vitalba, a vine which can climb 100 feet and shade out native plants, as well as creating a huge weight on whatever tree it is in. It turned out to be on the noxious weed list here.

 

I always learn something……………..M. 
Photos of burrknot  submitted to plant clinic:
burrknot2(1)
burrknot(1)
more about burrknot on apple tree:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burrknot
more about about Clematis bitalba:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/old-mans-beard.aspx
more about apple and thorn skeletonizer:
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1384e/eb1384e.html

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