Spruces are very decorative trees for the garden, especially when they are young. Later, the lower branches often become bare or improper care leads to various diseases or pest infestation. The attractiveness of the spruce is then lost.
Heart rot is often recognized too late
What exactly is red rot?
Red rot is a fungal attack that leads to red discoloration of the spruce wood. This disease can be caused by various pathogens and have different characteristics. A distinction is made between wound rot, often a result of bark injuries, and core rot, triggered by root fungus.
How do I treat wound rot?
In the case of wound rot, the rather sensitive bark of the spruce is injured, through this wound spores of the bleeding layer fungus get into the trunk. However, this type of red rot does not spread very far in the wood. A wound sealant that you apply to the cut immediately after any cutting measures is helpful. There is usually no risk of contamination of neighboring spruce trees.
What can I do against root fungus?
Root fungus is far more dangerous for your spruce than wound rot, as it quickly spreads throughout the heartwood of the trunk. The pathogen often enters the wood through the stump of a freshly felled spruce and spreads to neighboring healthy trees via root contacts. There it spreads from the roots practically invisibly from the outside in the heartwood.
There is practically nothing you can do to prevent core rot in an infested spruce. The tree should be felled as soon as possible, as it becomes increasingly unstable and susceptible to wind. To protect neighboring spruces from infestation, the root stumps can be treated with a special preparation when felling.
However, more effective and without chemicals is felling at a time when the pathogen is not active or the spore flight is low. Older root stumps can no longer be attacked by the fungus.
The essentials in brief:
- Cause: fungal infection
- different pathogens
- Wound rot mostly spatially limited
- Core rot can affect the entire wood core
tips
In early autumn, spruces are particularly susceptible to the dreaded core rot. Therefore, avoid pruning measures during this period.