I believe this is a mulberry tree in our backyard. I took some close up shots of the leaves. What do you think? Also, I've included a few pics of some "ground cover" growing in one of our beds. I'm wondering if anybody can identifiy what this is? It looks like it's overgrowing and it seems to attract some honey bees. Thanks!

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My music blog: [www.auditorymusings.net]


The Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado

Did someone drop a potato?

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Black
Did someone drop a potato?

LOL-my wife loves her potato vines... That's what the cover is.
Yes, pink, that looks like disease but I haven't had time to look it up. Someone will shortly.

If no one can answer this one try here: [www.arboristsite.com]

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Grateful11

This article may help identify the problem. Looks like bacterial leaf spot to me.
[www.dpi.nsw.gov.au]

FWIW, I get the same spots on the mulberries near me (not owned by me, though). And, the tree is healthy every year but every year the spots come around and the tree still fruits, too.

BTW, need some bigger photos!

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Hurts like a bastid...

Thanks for the replies and sorry for the "over the top" pics. I was trying to hurriedly post this morning and I couldn't figure out the links on imageshack to get smaller pics.

Anyway, we are going to have an arborist swing by and take a look as well.

In terms of the "potato vines" I guess they are nice-looking but totally overgrown. Should they just be trimmed down or removed completely and allowed to re-grow? Also, what attracts the honey bees? That bed is right next to our swimming pool, so I don't want bees buzzing over our heads constantly (though pool season is over until next spring/summer, of course).

Sometimes these leaf blights look bad by the end of the season, but they reach a head late enough that the tree already has what it needs for the dormant season.

Also, that's not a potato. Potatoes don't grow vines. Might be something else in the nightshade family. But either way, I'd remove it entirely. It's going to consume you.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/30/2012 08:57AM by Acer.

Acer, that is in fact potato vine. At least that's how it is marketed here in the midwest. I plant it as an annual to decorate pots of petunias and geraniums. It is very tough, so you can be very brutal trimming it back to keep it under control. In a more temperate climate where pinkoos seems to live, I'm sure it will be hardy through the winter.

swf, thanks for the update. I was thinking actual eating-potato. Regardless, it looks like a bad idea, like kudzu, mile-a-minute, etc.

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Acer
swf, thanks for the update. I was thinking actual eating-potato. Regardless, it looks like a bad idea, like kudzu, mile-a-minute, etc.

With a name like Acer, you should know your plants

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swf
This article may help identify the problem. Looks like bacterial leaf spot to me.
[www.dpi.nsw.gov.au]

It's been decades since I took one plant pathology class, but I thought it looked like a bacterial infection in the OP's pictures. And after looking over the PDF swf linked to, I think that (s)he's right that it is likely bacterial leaf spot. Unfortunately, if it bacterial leaf spot, then it appears to be widespread from what I see in the photos. That could be bad. I hope the arborist has good news for you.

Thanks for the replies. One arborist that came out thinks that it's fungal or bacterial, but he took a leaf sample and is going to confirm. He said that it more commonly affects pear trees but it's still possible to occur in a Mulberry.

Anyway, he thinks that the tree will just rebound next season and that there's no need to do anything now.