Mulberry trees are prone to many diseases including bacterial blight, cankers, cotton root rot, armillaria root rot, wet wood and wood decay. As some of these diseases are more serious than others, the likelihood of saving your dying tree depends on how deep-set the infection is. In some cases there will be nothing you can do to save the tree--for example, no treatment is available for cotton root rot once the tree is completely infected.
- Skill level:
- Challenging
Instructions
Things you need
- Pruning tools
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1
Remove the dead or dying branches from your mulberry tree as soon as you spot them.
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2
Hire an experienced professional to identify what is causing the disease. If the tree is to be saved, you must act quickly without much time to try different treatment options. Sometimes only a professional can give an accurate diagnosis. Some diseases are extremely similar, such as cotton root rot and other fungal-related root rot infections.
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3
Treat the mulberry tree as advised by the professional. For example, if the diagnosis is sooty canker disease, the advice may be to reduce pruning and thoroughly clean pruning tools in a 20 percent bleach solution. First, prune infected branches and get rid of them, then apply a fungicide to halt the infection.
Tips and warnings
- Stop future mulberry trees from becoming diseased by keeping a close eye on them and acting quickly as soon as you see early signs of disease or infection.
- Avoid over-watering your mulberry tree; it only needs water during extremely dry spells. Water at the base of the tree and do not spray the tree's leaves, as this can cause rotting.
