A tree disease is spreading through the Valley and is taking over people's backyards one tree at a time.
“Sooty canker is an air pathogens disease. It’s a fungi that will attack the tree and start shutting it down. We go to a lot of homes and it’s something we’ve seen more prevalent this summer than ever before,” said LP Oviedo, of Moon Valley Nursery.
The fungus generally enters through a wound or exposure on the tree. A tree can also be infected if it is under stress due to extreme heat or cold.
How do you know if a tree has sooty canker?
“Generally, it will create paper-thin bark literally as you wipe off the bark it comes off with your finger and you’ll see a dark black almost charcoal-like soot underneath it,” said Oviedo.
This year is the worst the nursery has ever seen. Our hottest July on record allowed the disease to multiply rapidly.
If you suspect your tree has this fungus, you must react right away. Unfortunately, the solution is almost always the removal of the tree or trees from your yard.
“As a homeowner, you could have done everything right and still had this situation, this is not your fault if you got it, it is nothing you can really stop,” said Oviedo.
