Fire Blight in Southern Maryland

What if your plants were being damaged and destroyed by a hidden killer?

Many Southern Maryland residents are experiencing issues with fire blight. Unfortunately, most of these residents don’t know what this common disease is and what they can do about it.

Are you interested in learning more about this blight and how to protect your own plants? Keep reading to discover the answers!

What Is Fire Blight?

Our guide is going to walk you through everything you need to know about this blight. Let’s start with the obvious: what is fire blight?

In short, this blight is a bacterial disease that affects both trees and plants. It is likeliest to strike after it has rained, when dew is heavy, or simply when the weather is warm outside.

This blight also spreads easily when it is blown to other trees and plants or spread by bees. And if you want to stop the spread of this blight, you need to know what is likeliest to be infected.

What Is Likeliest To Be Infected?

The trees and plants likeliest to experience this plant are those in the Rosaceae family. In other words, you will probably see this blight among apple, crabapple, peach, and pear trees.

Technically, this blight can occur almost anywhere. But as we noted before, it is worst when the weather is warm. That puts trees and plants during Southern Maryland’s spring and summer season at serious risk.

The good news is that there are steps you can take to protect these trees and plants. First, though, you need to know how to recognize the blight.

What Are the Symptoms of Fire Blight?

There are multiple symptoms of fire blight. One symptom is that flowers and leaves begin wilting and dying very soon after flowering occurs.

Another visual symptom of a fire blight tree comes in the form of black cankers. These are signs that the blight has been spreading, and this usually occurs when it has been both cold and wet outside for a while.

It’s possible to see the darkened appearance of these cankers in isolated areas. But after the disease spreads, it can make large sections of plants and trees look like they have been burned. Hence, the term “fire blight.”

What Can You Do?

Now you know more about what this blight is and how to recognize it among other tree diseases. But what can you actually do to protect your trees and shrubberies?

It’s possible for you to carefully prune the deadwood out once the tree is dormant. It’s also possible to use special antibiotics on the trees in the spring to save them before they flower.

Of course, the easiest thing you can do is pick up the phone. By calling local tree and shrub care professionals, you can make sure everything is taken care of throughout the year.

Take the Next Step

Fire blight is a very serious problem, and it can be very difficult to take care of yourself. But what if you could have professional tree and shrub care whenever you need it?

Here at Planet Friendly Pest Control, we specialize in problems like fire blight. To see what we can do for your own plants and trees, just contact us today!