Diseases

Quick Tips

• Select disease-resistant plant varieties with cold hardiness and drought tolerance whenever possible.
• Buy only healthy looking plants. Avoid plants with galls, torn bark, trunk wounds, and cankers.
• Pick the right plant for the right place. The right plant will fend for itself. Things to consider: sunlight, soil moisture, soil drainage, pH and soil texture.
• Plant properly. Take a soil test. Make the recommended adjustments.
• Mulch with caution. Soggy soils deprive roots of oxygen and cause root-rotting diseases.
• Rake and remove fallen leaves from around diseased plants.
• Improve air flow by not over planting.
• Do not water late in the day or at night if leaf diseases are potential problems.
• Fertilize, but be careful not to over do it. Follow the plant recommendations.
• Do not make flush pruning cuts or leave large stubs. Pruning wounds are doorways for many plant disease-causing organisms.
• Protect tree trunks from "lawn mower" or "weed eater" blight.