Bur Oak Blight Identification
A fairly new, but common disease, called bur oak blight has been spreading too many bur oaks in the Brainerd Lakes area over the past few years. This disease causes brown lesions on the leaves and early leaf loss in late July, August, and September. This disease gets worse each year, generally starting in the lower canopy and moving upwards. Most infected trees will look normal each spring, but by late summer heavy leaf damage will occur.
There are several indications of this disease, but one of the easiest ways to tell is that dead leaves will remain attached to the branches of bur oaks through the winter; whereas, healthy bur oaks will lose all of their leaves in the fall. Over time, severely infected trees are weakened and can become infested by two-lined chestnut borer, an insect that attacks and kills stressed oak trees. It is important to encourage tree health and to treat infected trees to protect them from bur oak blight and two-lined chestnut borer.
Meet with one of our Certified Arborists to discuss the treatment options for preserving your bur oak trees.