These diseases are the most common

Illnesses due to location or care errors

In addition to a simple infestation with a harmful fungus or a conifer can also be the result of an unsuitable pathogen Location and / or ill-cared for. The causes are not mutually exclusive, but are mutually dependent: Many microorganisms preferentially attack trees that are already weakened and can no longer defend themselves. In order to prevent disease, you should avoid these causes in particular:

• unsuitable locations (too much / too little light)
• compacted soil / waterlogging
• dry soil
• long, dry periods of frost in winter
• Nutritional deficiency (Rare)
• Overfertilization (more common)

Common parasitic diseases

If signs of disease appear in a conifer, they can have various causes. Often the needles that are affected are affected turn brown and fall off.

rust

There are various rust fungi, for example the pine blister rust and the juniper rust (the latter is the dreaded one with pears

Pear grid that impede the transport of water in the trunk and branches. As a result, color infected tree parts brown and eventually die due to the undersupply.

Needle tan

Needle tan also causes shoots and twigs to die, which is caused by various fungi. The clinical picture often shows up in spring when individual shoot tips first brown and then die off.

Root and stem rot

This disease is also known as Phytophthora rot and is caused by the soil-dwelling fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi. The infection occurs mainly as a result of a waterlogged soil, whereby first the roots and only later the trunk rot. A typical sign are spongy, purple-discolored areas on both the roots and the trunk.

Pestalotia branch dieback

This is a weak parasite that primarily attacks coniferous trees that are already weakened. Pestalotia funerea causes the shoot tips to turn gray.

Gray mold

Botrytis cinerea has a wide range of hosts and does not stop at conifers. Infection occurs mainly in cold, damp springs and causes the young, still soft shoot tips to turn brown.