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dying chestnut trees


chirpy
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The last 2 years I have noticed a lot of chestnut trees loosing leaves very  early and the following year not producing much new growth.Someone mentioned in UK that indeed there is a problem due to leaves being attacked by a moth and in France it is now a noticeble discease to be give to the marie.There is even a suspicion thatthe marie will arrange to have such trees cut down without charge.

My how stories grow!unlike the chestnut tree.

Can anyone advise ?

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This is the second year that our large chestnut tree has suffered. All looks well in the spring but you can see the leaf boring going on and all the leaves gradually turn brown early.  Most of the trees in our area are affected (the Tarn).  I heard a discussion on radio 4 about it. It is a moth that is causing the problems and research is being carried out.  An insecticide has been found - it's just a matter of making it available and easy to use.

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Similar here - although I think it is Horse Chestnut and not Sweet Chestnut trees that are affected. We have a 300 year old Horse Chestnut tree in front of our house that has been affected by this canker.  I am waiting until next spring to make the decision to fell it. I don't want to but it is beginning to look inevitable - other trees in our village are in the same condition.
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  • 5 weeks later...

Over a yeat ago a kind person on this forum sent some advice about this which I have followed, and it does seem to have helped .

The advice was to burn the fallen leaves, which is where the moth larvae over wimter, so I raked up and burnt as many as I could and the tree did seem a bit healthier and happier as a result. I am not sure that this could ever be a cure but it could prolong the life of a lovely tree.

Having said that I have also been advised that horse chestnuts have a tendancy to drop their branches suddenly. Our tree is in a courtyard and  although we love it for its beauty and the lovely shade it gives I am increasingly concerned about this possibility, which I imagine is most likely in a diseased tree.

Lets hope a cure is found....

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A pest and a disease are being noted in control orders issued by the UK Forestry Commission: Oriental Chestnut Gall Wasp, Dryocosmus kuriphilus and the disease Phytophthora ramorum, which causes Sudden Oak Death (and also affects Chestnuts). The Wasp has been noted in Italy but my bet is Phytophora, a serious root disease.

Your mayor sounds on the ball offering to cut the trees down.

In the Indre, the snow is coming down hard.........

 

Colin

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This problem with chestnut trees is due to the Horse Chestnut Leaf Miner Moth. (Cameraria ohridella)

The larvae overwinter in the fallen leaves, and will hatch to start the cycle over again in late spring, when you will start to see brown spots appearing on the leaves.

The advice to sweep up and burn all the leaves is therefore sound advice. I have noticed that where this occurs regularly the trees looked a lot healthier and kept their leaves until autumn, whereas the badly affected trees started losing their leaves in August. In some cases, they will grow new leaves and even start to blossom again in the autumn.

I understand that this attack should not cause the trees to die, as the damage occurs late in the season. Therefore there is no reason to fell the trees.

More information at http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/INFD-68JJRC or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameraria_ohridella

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I was aware of this problem with Horse Chestnut trees, but the folks here are saying that Castanea (Sweet Chestnut) is their problem.

I think someone should send us a photo to clear this up once and for all before half the trees in France get felled by mistake!

Everyone enjoying the snow?

Colin & Marie-Chantal Elliott

 

This post has been edited by a moderator,  in line with the forum code of conduct.  Please do not post your personal contact details or advertise your business on the forum.  Users are allowed one link to their website in their signature line.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Jardins de France is the monthly magazine of the SNHF - France's RHS.

In the December issue there was a great article on Chestnuts (Sweet Chestnut - Castanea, not Horse Chestnut - Aesculus). In the seven-page article they talked about the botany, cultivation, history, varieties, nut proteries and more: diseases.

Two killer deseases noted are:

 L'encre (Phytophtora cinnamoni) which effects the roots causing the leaves to drop. Characteristic lesions bled an inky substance. The are no chemical controls but the advice is to avoid contamination by removing dead wood and not planting in damp soils. There are also new resistant varieties and rootstocks.

Chancre de l'ecorse (Endothia parasitica) which enters the plant through natural damage or poor pruning. The fungus lives in the bark and causes leaves above the infection to dry out. Again, no chemical control exists.

Between them these diseases have caused huge losses of trees and if your plants have it an offer of cutting and removing them for free sounds very good value. Phytophtora cinnamoni in particular causes serious diseases in a very wide range of plants so be careful what you plant in that part of the garden in future.

Colin the Gardener

This post has been edited by a moderator,

 in line with the forum code of conduct.  Please do not post your

personal contact details or advertise your business on the forum. 

Users are allowed one link to their website in their signature line.

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