White Pine Blister Rust - Ask Extension
Hello,
I am wondering if you can give me advice on two of my white pines. If it helps, I am a U of M grad!
See attached photos. I have two whi...
Knowledgebase
White Pine Blister Rust #792725
Asked May 26, 2022, 9:02 AM EDT
Hello,
I am wondering if you can give me advice on two of my white pines. If it helps, I am a U of M grad!
See attached photos. I have two white pines next to each other in my yard. One is starting to turn slightly yellow, with a white "sap" running down the trunk. I have read about white pine blister rust on your website. It seems that is the issue. The other tree appears to be healthy at this time.
I am thinking the infected areas on the one tree are too high for me to deal with. And you see how close it is to the other tree. How likely is it that the other tree will get it as well? How likely is it that the disease is fatal? Should I cut down the infected tree?
Thanks for your help.
--
Steve
Crow Wing County Minnesota
Expert Response
Hi Steve,
The white pine blister rust fungus Cronartium ribicola needs to infect both white pine and a Ribes spp. plant to complete its life cycle. Prune at least 4 inches of healthy wood beyond the visible symptoms of disease and destroy all pine branches with yellow or orange blisters cankers (swollen area with discolored and cracked bark) before infection reaches trunk. Remove and destroy your pine tree if the tree has trunk infections. Remove and destroy all infected alternate host plants (Ribes spp. like Red, white and black currant, gooseberry) or indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.) and lousewort (Pedicularis spp.) in and within a minimum of 1,000 feet of your yard. 'Paton's Silver Splendor' is a variety of eastern white pine that is resistant to white pine blister rust. Many new cultivars of gooseberry and currant plants are resistant to white pine blister rust. If you can find and destroy both the infected Ribes and prune out the cankers you can stop the cycle so one tree can be saved and the other pine tree will not be infected. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/white-pine-blister-rust
The following site explains how to hire an arborists.
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/how-hire-tree-care-professional
The white pine blister rust fungus Cronartium ribicola needs to infect both white pine and a Ribes spp. plant to complete its life cycle. Prune at least 4 inches of healthy wood beyond the visible symptoms of disease and destroy all pine branches with yellow or orange blisters cankers (swollen area with discolored and cracked bark) before infection reaches trunk. Remove and destroy your pine tree if the tree has trunk infections. Remove and destroy all infected alternate host plants (Ribes spp. like Red, white and black currant, gooseberry) or indian paintbrush (Castilleja spp.) and lousewort (Pedicularis spp.) in and within a minimum of 1,000 feet of your yard. 'Paton's Silver Splendor' is a variety of eastern white pine that is resistant to white pine blister rust. Many new cultivars of gooseberry and currant plants are resistant to white pine blister rust. If you can find and destroy both the infected Ribes and prune out the cankers you can stop the cycle so one tree can be saved and the other pine tree will not be infected. https://extension.umn.edu/plant-diseases/white-pine-blister-rust
The following site explains how to hire an arborists.
https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/how-hire-tree-care-professional
