Tree Health
Understanding Common Tree Diseases
Protect your trees with expert knowledge and care from The Happy Tree Company Ltd.
Common tree diseases
At a glance symptoms and diseases
Sooty Bark Disease
Primarily affecting sycamore and maple trees, symptoms include rapid canopy wilting, branch dieback and bark peeling.
Oak tree diseases
The most common Oak disease in the UK is Acute Oak Decline (AOD) which causes dark, weeping fluid patches, thinning crowns and death. Other issues include Chronic Oak Dieback, powdery mildew and pathogens like Phytophthora.
Larch disease
A highly destructive condition that causes extensive damage and sudden death to larch trees, primarily caused by a fungus-like water mould called Phytophthora ramorum.
Ash dieback
A huge issue in the UK, ash dieback is a wind-borne fungus that has already infected the majority of UK ash trees. Symptoms include leaf wilting, black lesions on the bark and crown dieback. There is no cure, but proper management is required to ensure safety.
Honey fungus
Common UK garden pathogen that kills trees and shrubs. Appears as honey-coloured clusters and is identified by white spores and black, root-like "bootlaces." Spreads underground, requiring the complete removal of infected stumps.
Dutch elm disease
Fatal fungus spread by elm bark beetles. Causes rapid wilting, yellowing leave and dark brown streaking under the bark. No cure, but qualified aborists can provide sanitation and tree injections, although this is often ineffective