Dogwood Tree Leaves Curling
Drought and winter injuries weaken trees and the anthracnose fungus mostly attacks during the cool wet spring and fall weather but it can occur during any season.
Dogwood tree leaves curling. As the disease progresses the leaves may cup or curl upward. If you ve planted your dogwood tree in the last 2 3 years this is completely normal your tree simply hasn t gotten its roots system completely established. If the leaves are curling on your dogwood they are likely succumbing to either a fungus or a pest infestation and this can compromise the health of the tree. Check twigs branches and trunk for cankers or swollen sunken areas.
Typically within 5 years of transplanting you ll see the majority of leaf curl diminish. Curled wilted or distorted leaves along with dark or tarlike spots are common symptoms of dogwood anthracnose. If you see the white coating and cupped leaves on your tree fungicides cannot cure the disease which is already established. This disease causes a white powdery coating on upper leaf surfaces.
On dogwood trees mycrosphaeria pulchra is the causal pathogen for powdery mildew. A variety of environmental stressors can cause an alarming curl known as leaf scorch in dogwood leaves. Dogwoods very commonly exhibit curled leaves in summer so chances are you don t have too much to worry about.