Hi everyone I'm new to the forum here and hoping for some advice with my arbutus menziesii tree. I got this tree from a nursery in Langley last summer, and it seemed happy in its new Kitsilano home at first. Sometime over the winter however I noticed that it was developing black spots on its leaves. There now seems to be more of these black spots, and the tree has been wilting some leaves. Even the healthier-looking leaves have curly edges and seem dehydrated to be untrained eyes. Is it possible I'm not watering my arbutus enough? Or perhaps too much? Any advice would be hugely appreciated.
Madrone (Arbutus menziesii)-Leaf Spots and Blights | Pacific Northwest Pest Management Handbooks (pnwhandbooks.org)
Where I live on Vancouver Island, Arbutus menziesii grow wild and get no water except for rainfall. So, don't water your tree. Unfortunately, arbutus trees are prone to so many fungal diseases that can affect all parts of the tree. A disturbing number are ailing and many actually die after a few years. The advice in the publication Ron mentions sounds good - ie. to rake up fallen leaves. There is an old forestry publication put out by the Pacific Forestry Centre (https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2012/rncan-nrcan/Fo29-6-63-1992-eng.pdf) that has a recipe for Bordeaux mixture, an all-purpose fungicide. I mention it but do not recommend it because it can become a pollutant and, in any case, is not effective after a fungal problem is present. You can decide if you think it might help your tree. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bordeaux_mixture
