Q. My maple tree has black spots on the leaves that just appeared recently. Should I be concerned about this? What should I do? A. Sometimes wet conditions earlier in the season can cause problems ...

By the time the stroma (the visible mat of fungal tissue that spreads spores) turns black, the disease has probably been progressing for months, even if canopy dieback symptoms seem to be sudden.

The disease gets its name from the black patches that grow on the trunks of infected trees. In a newly infected tree, branches become denuded then die off. Eventually, the entire tree succumbs.

A common fungal disease of cherry and plum trees is widespread in Greater Columbus, likely worsened by the abnormally wet conditions experienced locally both this spring and last spring. Black ...