Fruiting Plum Tree - Ask Extension
I have pictures that I can forward you from my email account. This plum tree has many leaves, looks healthy, flowers and fruits, until you look closel...
Knowledgebase
Fruiting Plum Tree #429983
Asked October 04, 2017, 9:59 PM EDT
I have pictures that I can forward you from my email account. This plum tree has many leaves, looks healthy, flowers and fruits, until you look closely at it's bark that is splitting. It's also oozing amber, white and red looking sap. I don't see any bugs or borers on the tree. I think it's an old tree,maybe planted in the 60's. Thanks for you help.
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
If you can send us digital photos, we will take a look. You can use the "Choose File" below to put them directly into this response. (You may need to download them to your computer files first).
That said, 50+ years is very old for a fruiting tree. They are prone to multiple insects and diseases, including borers.
The seepage of amber sap or frass, which is a mix of sawdust and excrements suggests borers, but send us photos and we'll take a look.
cm
That said, 50+ years is very old for a fruiting tree. They are prone to multiple insects and diseases, including borers.
The seepage of amber sap or frass, which is a mix of sawdust and excrements suggests borers, but send us photos and we'll take a look.
cm
Hello, Here are the pics of the troubled Fruiting Plum tree. Thanks for taking a look. Kim Forry, Gardener Chase Lloyd Home P.S I think the tree was planted in the late 80's.
Hello, Here are the pics of the troubled Fruiting Plum tree. Thanks for taking a look. Kim Forry, Gardener Chase Lloyd Home P.S I think the tree was planted in the late 80's.
That is gummosis. Seepage of sap happens any time a tree has an injury. It can anything from a bump from a lawn mower to a boring insect or a bleeding canker, which is a disease.
The push of sap is the tree's attempt to push out the invasion.
It is not possible to know from your photos exactly what is going on but it would be typical for an old fruiting plum to have problems with both borers and Leucostoma cankers. Take a look at this page from our website, and read about canker diseases under 'diseases', and borers under 'insects'.
http://extension.umd.edu/growit/common-problems-stone-fruit-peaches-cherries-plums-apricots-and-nect...
The split looks like it has attempted to heal, but the internal portions are likely dead.
At this point if you want plums, you should start over, and follow the management and spray recommendations contained here: http://extension.umd.edu/growit/stone-fruit-peaches-cherries-plums-apricots-nectarines
For your tree now, if it still looks otherwise healthy, start following the care recommendations, including pruning and chemical spray schedules.
If you want to treat it as an ornamental, you can keep it until it declines further.
Here is a page that helps homeowners decide when to remove a tree:
http://extension.umd.edu/learn/how-do-you-decide-when-remove-tree
cm
The push of sap is the tree's attempt to push out the invasion.
It is not possible to know from your photos exactly what is going on but it would be typical for an old fruiting plum to have problems with both borers and Leucostoma cankers. Take a look at this page from our website, and read about canker diseases under 'diseases', and borers under 'insects'.
http://extension.umd.edu/growit/common-problems-stone-fruit-peaches-cherries-plums-apricots-and-nect...
The split looks like it has attempted to heal, but the internal portions are likely dead.
At this point if you want plums, you should start over, and follow the management and spray recommendations contained here: http://extension.umd.edu/growit/stone-fruit-peaches-cherries-plums-apricots-nectarines
For your tree now, if it still looks otherwise healthy, start following the care recommendations, including pruning and chemical spray schedules.
If you want to treat it as an ornamental, you can keep it until it declines further.
Here is a page that helps homeowners decide when to remove a tree:
http://extension.umd.edu/learn/how-do-you-decide-when-remove-tree
cm
