Are monkey puzzle trees susceptible to Gall rust? I have a friend who has an ancient one (50ft+) in her yard in Roseburg, OR. Last year it started turning brown and now only has about a 5ft crown at the top which is green. I don't live near by but this sounds like what happened to a pine tree in our yard in Grass Valley, California, so I told her I would look into it. Evidently the trunk has a lot of weeping sap as well. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Any thoughts? Sadly, nothing that I think would help the situation. If it's bleeding and has 5' of life left on a 50' trunk, I don't know that she can really do much but to top it and try to root it out. I don't think it's long for this world.
Can you get a photo? I'd suspect poor cultural conditions (e.g. compacted or poorly drained soil) are a more likely cause than any disease. MPs are not closely related to pines, and don't suffer from the same diseases. Might be worth looking into terravent treatment if they want to help the tree (do a google search for terravent + oregon, to find arborists who offer this service in the Roseburg area).
Thanks! I'll try to get a picture and post it. I'm afraid they probably let it go too long without proper attention. They are such majestic trees! I was just wanting to try and save it. I'll look up the procedure you recommended. Thanks again - Anne
