plum tree problem

[erob914]

I have some plum trees that I think I am having a borer problem with. Today I noticed sap bleeding from the trunk of two of my plum trees. One tree only had a couple of spots and the other had quite a few spots that were bleeding an amber colored sap. The sap spots were small in size except for one that was the size of a large marble. The rest were the size of BB's.
I cant remember the type of plum tree I have. It blooms white in early spring along with bradford pears and has reddish yellow plums.
I had a purple leaf plum tha died from this same problem about 4 years ago right after I moved into my house. It was too late to save it, but I hope I can save this one befor its too late.
I did a search on plum trees but only came up with some sort of bacterial disease that is fatal. I dont think this is it because all the sap is bleeding no higher than 4 feet from the ground indicating that something has crawled up the tree. I can also see 1/16 holes in the trunk of the tree in the same area on the trunk.
I never identified the cause of the purple leaf plums death, but i have had a silver maple killed by red headed ash borers and a crabapple attacked by them also.

thanks for the help.
eric.

 

[Guy Meilleur]

Originally posted by erob914
I have some plum trees that I think I am having a borer problem with.
I did a search on plum trees but only came up with some sort of bacterial disease that is fatal. I dont think this is it because all the sap is bleeding no higher than 4 feet from the ground

Don't be so quick to blame bugs. Bacterial infections attack bases of plums. If you see holes, surgicallytrim the bark around them, get the bug that's doing the damage so you can ID and control. They may be just scavenging areas killed by bacteria.
did your search mention ways to ID and control bacterial infections?.

 

[erob914]

The search I did was on "plum trees". There was one post that mentioned amber colored sap oozing from the bark. The post only mentioned a bacterial disease that was untreatable and fatal to the tree. No other details were given about it.
If this is borers, which ones are active right now?

 

[coffeecraver]

This may be your problem.

Time to Treat Peach Tree Borer
Date: August 30, 1995
Contact: Charles Ward, (505) 275-2576
Editor: Donita Massey, (505) 646-1072



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LAS CRUCES - Fall is a good time to protect peach and related trees against their worst enemy: the peach tree borer.

"This insect winds up killing most of the peach trees in New Mexico if it's not controlled," said Charles Ward, an entomologist with New Mexico State University's Cooperative Extension Service.

At this time of year, the larvae have already bored into the trunk, but it is possible to kill them before they cause extensive damage, Ward said.

"About mid-October, apply borer crystals available from the garden supply centers or use insect parasitic nematode," Ward said. "Either treatment can be applied in the fall after all the borer eggs have hatched."

To find out if your peach, plum, apricot or ornamental purple plum tree has borer damage, dig down about an inch around the trunk. If you see a lot of gum oozing from the tree trunk, that's a symptom of peach tree borer.

Another indication is slow growth and inefficient use of water. "Particularly as the larvae kill the bark on one side of the tree, you may find one branch that wilts more readily than others," Ward said. "That's an indication there's severe damage on that side of the tree."

To learn more about peach tree borer, ask your county Extension office for a copy of circular 515.