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Verticillium wilt?

LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
in Problem solving
No major signs of die back (although foliage looks a bit tatty) but when I pruned a lower branch on this Cercis I noticed the distinct brown colour in the cut stem. Is this likely to mean the shrub is infected?
"What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
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  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698

    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    I am not to sure its verticilliun wilt the brown patch looks to large / dark brown with no ring pattern in my opinion but could be wrong . Was the branch dead ? Have you got the branch still to peel the bark away . Is the the brown bit soft to touch rotting ?

    If it is VW they can grow through the disease but will always have it, with the dry weather over spring its ideal conditions for fungus to attack a stress tree. 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited June 2020
    It was only planted last autumn, I cut the branch a couple of months ago and noticed the staining straight away, it was reddish brown, I think it looks darker because of the rain. Maybe Cercis heartwood just looks like this? VW sprang to mind because a forum member had a Cercis attacked by it last year. 

    If it was VW I would want to take steps to minimise it spreading. Such as removing and burning the plant. But I wouldn't want to do it unnecessarily
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited June 2020
    The heartwood is "stained" but didn't seem soft, the branch had healthy leaves, I just removed it as it was so low down. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    edited June 2020
    If you don't want VW to spread and the cercis is the host plant, if it is VW and its looking like a possibility you'll have to get rid of it and room the soil and plants under planted it. The cercis must of had it originally when bought to have that much marking on the stems that's if it is VW. Why don't you pot it up and wait and see ? must of cost you quite a bit for a plant that size.  The plant does look quite healthy to me to be honest.

    I have seen VW in a Acer sango before and the colouring was more faded black streaks with branches which have died back.    
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I have an acer with VW - I think - it was diagnosed by another member.
    I first noticed some branches in the spring didn't leaf up and just died back a foot or so - this was just a few branches.
    I cut one of the branches off and it had the tell-tale dark rings inside.
    I removed all of the affected branches and assumed the tree would die.
    It didn't. 
    Masses of new growth appeared from the base of the tree the following year and it grows enthusiastically now. 
    It no longer looks like a tree - more like a shrub, but it looks fine, so I'll leave it.
    Nothing else appears to have been infected.

    Here it is today-


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    It cost £24 but if VW spread from it, it could cost a bit more. However if there's doubt about the diagnosis, and it appears Pete's VW infection didn't spread to other plants, I may be worrying over nothing. 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited June 2020
    I'm not entirely sure my acer does have VW - I really don't know.
    It happened the spring after a very dry summer so I wondered if drought was the cause, then I got a diagnosis here from a former member of the forum about 4-5 years ago.
    Fair to say there was a rowan in that position which was felled by storms in the 90's and that was riddled with some sort of fungus.
    I have tried to keep it watered more and it seems to have recovered.
    I have also noticed on several occasions when I've pruned other shrubs/trees there are sometimes dark rings where I made the cut - but these plants seem to be in fine health and are not susceptible to VW, so I'm not sure why there are dark rings inside perfectly healthy plants...

    PS - just an extra thought.
    Would a drought year cause a dark growth ring ?

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    I followed the principle of better safe than sorry. I cut up the stems to see what was going on. These are the worst bits. You can see where there's been a wound on the bark the core has gone brown. 

    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    oh dear so the cercis is no more , I suppsoe the good new it isn't VW and it would of died in the near future anyway. Have you dug it up ? I think they can regenerate from hard pruning 
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