Are my madrone trees doomed or will they recover? - Ask Extension
We have 3-4 madrone trees in our yard (not located adjacent to creek beds). Right now most look dead - solid brown leaves covering most or in parts ...
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Are my madrone trees doomed or will they recover? #864082
Asked April 11, 2024, 11:00 AM EDT
We have 3-4 madrone trees in our yard (not located adjacent to creek beds). Right now most look dead - solid brown leaves covering most or in parts of the trees; the ones w/ green leaves have brown spots though there is new green growth coming at most of the ends of the branches. Living in the vicinity of McDonald forest, I saw a similar madrone walking along a road partially brown branches. What can we do, if anything, to help our madrone's recover - I did print the May 2008 article on diseases/insect pests of pacific madrone. Could the cause be the wet winter?
Benton County Oregon
Expert Response
Hi Terri,
I notice some mature Douglas-fir trees in the background of your photos and suspect these madrones are in partial shade. Madrones love full sunlight and we suspect that they are more susceptible to foliage disease and fungal pathogens when in shady conditions.
I find this publication to be quite helpful in discussing the many diseases that effect our madrones: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/forests/tree-care/whats-wrong-my-madrone. It also lists suggestions of what you can do, which include pruning dead branches and raking infected leaves before the fall rains to limit spread of fungal spores.
Please let me know if you have any other questions,
