Tree branches dying off - Ask Extension
We have a couple of trees that have have had large branches dying off. Whatever is affecting them is not killing the branches all at once. Instead ...
Knowledgebase
Tree branches dying off #848517
Asked September 04, 2023, 11:33 AM EDT
We have a couple of trees that have have had large branches dying off. Whatever is affecting them is not killing the branches all at once. Instead it seems to be attacking them one by one. As you can see, the leaves turn brown, and then do not grow back. We cut off the affected branches this spring, but it doesn't appear to have stopped the spread.
The trunks have pockmarks, as shown in the attached picture. I don't know if that is causing the damage or not
Thank you for your help. Please let me know if you need additional information, or other pictures to help understand what is happening.
Washington County Oregon
Expert Response
This looks like a birch tree. The holes (in rows) you notice are from the red breasted sapsucker, a woodpecker that excavates "sap wells". The birds eat the sap from the wells, but also get insects attracted to the wells. I don't think the declining branches are related to the sapsucker wholes. https://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/pathogen-articles/nonpathogenic-phenomena/recognizing-sapsucker-damage-your-trees
Our landscape birch trees are being killed by a beetle called the bronze birch borer. They seem to find all our birches and are common throughout Oregon, especially in cities and towns.
The bronze birch borer is very difficult to control, but there are some pesticides that can prevent attack. Here are some links that provide lots of information.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-extension/featured/treatments-bronze-birch-borer
https://www.oregon.gov/odf/Documents/forestbenefits/BronzeBirchBorer.pdf
Our landscape birch trees are being killed by a beetle called the bronze birch borer. They seem to find all our birches and are common throughout Oregon, especially in cities and towns.
The bronze birch borer is very difficult to control, but there are some pesticides that can prevent attack. Here are some links that provide lots of information.
https://extension.oregonstate.edu/ask-extension/featured/treatments-bronze-birch-borer
https://www.oregon.gov/odf/Documents/forestbenefits/BronzeBirchBorer.pdf
