Hi there,
Hopefully someone might be able to help me out with my chinese elm. Spring just started over here and I saw a bunch of dark/black spots on a lot of the leaves (even on the new leaves that are starting to pop out). The spots can’t be rubbed off and they seem to be ‘inside’ the leaf.
Does anyone have an idea what it might be and how I can get rid of it?
Hi @Buse,
Has you tree held these leaves all winter? I’m guessing that they are just old and about to be replaces with new growth. My Chinese Elm drops its leaves before winter, but I have heard if it docent get too cold, they can keep them.
Thanks for your reply. It actually did keep most of it’s leaves yeah, but I started to doubt since it seems like there are some of these spots on a few fresh leaves. I’ll just keep an eye on it and see how things evolve over the spring/summer.
That is some kind of fungal black spot. It first shows up on Chinese elms before the new leaves harden off, and when the foliage gets wet in the early spring. Once your tree gets it it is difficult to get rid of. It will reappear each season if left untreated and can ultimately kill the tree. To treat it, you need to treat the tree in the late winter or early spring with a systemic fungicide. Treat the whole tree, the branches, roots and soil. Defoliate the tree. Discard the leaves. Spray the branches with Neem oil. Within a couple of weeks, new leaves will sprout. Spray again with Neem Oil. Keep the tree in a warm dry place. Do not mist or get the new leaves wet again until they harden off. Repeat process if necessary.
