ash shooting flowers and dropping leaves

[Rickytree]

this ash is located down a sloped part of lawn and is beside 3 smaller trees which are about 20 feet tall. The largest ash is dropping leaves and is shooting what looks like clusters of flowers. We had a very bad storm here in October and i was thinking that has something to do with it. Also some leaf curl and discolouring which could be anthracnose but it seems to be spreading fast and we haven't had hardly no rain. Any thoughts or suggestions? cheers!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

You might be seeing Ash Flower Gall. not much more than a cosmetic problem.

Ash like lots of water. During drought, like much of the country has seen in the last few years, it helps to get out and water your trees when it gets dry. Just set up a lawn sprinkler and give them a good drink once or twice week.

There are a few serious Ash problems, EAB is one. Are you near the Detroit outbreak?

 

[Rickytree]

near detriot?

No the trees are in the southern Ontario region. Yes it has been very dry but the problem i was told started in the spring.

 

[ATH]

Can you post a couple of pictures?

What species of ash?

Flower galls was my first guess reading what you wrote, but maybe not. Anthracnose tends to like wetter/cooler years....

On the leaf curl, maybe aphids or psyllids? See about half way down in this publication for aphids andthis publication for psyllids. But neither of these should cause brown leaves like anthracnose. Does it look like ash anthracnose?. Could also be drought, EAB... or a host of others.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Here's the EAB map:http://www.emeraldashborer.info/files/MultiState_EABpos.pdf
The trees are pretty much goners soon anyway. Plant some non-Ash replacement trees now and when the EAB kills your Ash, you'll be ready.

 

[MarsCrash]

Ash anthracnose

If you live in southern Ontario, you're probably in the EAB zone. It has been a bad year for ash anthracnose around Detroit, too. ...As if they didn't have enough problems.

 

[Zac]

If you live in southern Ontario, you're probably in the EAB zone. It has been a bad year for ash anthracnose around Detroit, too. ...As if they didn't have enough problems.

Chicago area was bad too. Early spring, the park ways were littered with ash leaves.

 

[jrparbor04]

i am very concerned about EAB in the st. louis region,,,i believe the pest is already here and we are just trying to detect it as soon as possible,,,we plant zelkova as a replacement,,,other thoughts????

 

[ATH]

Other thoughts besides zelkova:
Look more specifically at the site (soils, growing space, wind exposure, sun exposure, etc, etc...). Also look at what is already there. If the city is currently 30% Zelkova, probably a good idea to quit planting them... Stick with less than 20% of any one species.

Give a few more specifics, and folks will pipe in with their some suggestions for those areas.

Also, Virginia Tech and Dr. Gilman at Florida both have nice tools for helping select a tree:
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/treeselector/index.cfm
http://orb.at.ufl.edu/TREES/index.html (click on "Tree Selector" on left menu).