Avoiding Common Tree Mistakes

Aristocrat Pear Tree: Preventing And Treating Common Diseases

3 March 2016 by Chiara Brun

The aristocrat pear tree is a moderate-sized ornamental tree that offers attractive foliage throughout most of the year and fruit that attracts a variety of birds. Pear trees start the spring with white flowers, which drop away to reveal purple-colored leaves that turn green into the summer before turning red in the fall before falling off. An aristocrat pear tree is an interesting addition to a larger yard in need of a distinctive touch.

Part of tree ownership is understanding what tree diseases can strike, how to prevent the diseases from developing, and how to fix the problem if an infection has already happened.

Fire Blight

Aristocrat pear trees are extremely vulnerable to the disease fire blight. The bacterial infection will start in the spring with the start of the growing season and symptoms will quickly show up.  Symptoms include the narrow tips of the branches turning dark as if the branch was charred in a fire. Leaves can also turn brown, but unlike many other tree diseases, the blight won't make the leaves actually fall off the tree. The disease will then spread into the bark and form oozing cankers that can prove too much for the thin bark to handle and thus kill the affected branch.

The best way to prevent fire blight from happening is to ask a tree care service to apply a blossom spray before the growing season begins. It is also important to avoid over fertilizing the tree, which can lead to rapid growth that makes the tree more susceptible to fire blight.

If your tree is already infected, call in a tree trimming service to remove any "burned" tips and branches with canker to prevent the infection from moving on to other infected areas.

Pear Scab

Pear scab is a fungal infection that causes yellow spots to appear on the tree's leaves. The spots will begin to darken as the disease progresses and can then move on into the bark and fruit. The spots on the bark can resemble cankers but will have a velvety texture. Affected leaves can start to drop off, which can range from a few leaves to entire branches worth of leaves falling to the ground.

Keeping the tree healthy and avoiding overwatering can help minimize the risk of scab developing or worsening if the scab has already developed. Call in a tree care service to remove affected leaves early in the process and to apply chemical controls to prevent the disease from worsening.

Pear Leaf Spot

Leaf spot, also called leaf blight, is a fungal disease that causes the tree's leaves to show premature signs of withering. The blight will create dark brown spots on the leaves and the leaves will soon begin to curl and brown around the edges. Leaves will then fall from the tree and the withering can then start to target the stems or branches.

Leaf spot is mostly a problem in pear trees that have suffered damage due to improper care or weather-related injury. Asking a tree service like Northwest Residential Arborist And Excavating to conduct regular maintenance on the tree can prevent the leaf spot from developing. Once the problem has already developed, the tree service needs to completely remove any affected leaves or branches to prevent the spread.

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