Treat diseases and pests

Signs of disease and pests

Depending on the type and severity of the disease or pest infestation, there are different signs that you can use to assess the health of your Colorado fir. These include, among others:

• yellow needles
• brown needles
• falling needles
• Webs
• white, yellow or orange colored spores

Common diseases of the Colorado Fir

Disease does not usually affect Colorado firs. Virus and fungal diseases can occur more rarely. A flow of resin, for example, indicates a viral disease. Yellow needles can represent a fungal disease. These include, for example, pine shrimp, pine needle rust and gray mold.

Recognize pine shrimp and gray mold

In pine cancer, crooked and later yellow colored needles appear. They are thrown off in summer. You can recognize an infestation by gray mold, for example, by the white spore heads on the underside of the needles. In addition, gray-brown threads can often be seen.

Common pests

Pests occur more frequently than diseases on Colorado firs in this country. There is a wide range of pests. But predominantly these woody plants are attacked by the following pests in poor location, climate and care conditions:

• Lice like the Cinara bark lice (colored black, reminiscent of spiders) or the pine stem lice
• Spider mites
• Black-spotted Weevers

The pests usually suck up the sap. The needles then turn yellowish until they fall off from powerlessness. Regular checks for pest infestation and immediate intervention in the event of a finding or using soapy water can help.

Disease and pest prevention - avoid care mistakes

Diseases and pests usually only appear on weakened plants. So that the Colorado fir remains vital and thus robust, one should avoid care mistakes, if necessary watering, not too much fertilize etc.

Pay particular attention to the following aspects when choosing a location and maintaining it:

• acidic pH
• Avoidance of waterlogging
• Pour during dry periods
• do not plant in full sun
• do not over-fertilize
• fertilize with Epsom salt if there is a lack of nutrients