The flowering dogwood tree is a small, versatile ornamental tree with bright white flowers and red fruits that attract both birds and butterflies to your home or garden. This tree is a great addition to any yard looking for a pop of color or wildlife. Owning a flowering dogwood can be a rewarding experience but also requires you to conduct some occasional checks to ensure the tree is free from the diseases that can cause cosmetic issues and damage the tree's beauty.

Here are a few of the ornamental tree diseases that can strike a flowering dogwood – and how a tree service can help.

Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that can strike the flowering dogwood tree. The disease gets its name from the primary symptom: a white, fuzzy, mildew-like growth that forms on the surface of the leaves. But the "mildew" isn't confined to the leaves and can, in fact, drop down on the ground, surrounding plantings, and walkways. If the white fuzz grows thickly enough on the leaf to block out photosynthesis, the affected leaf can die prematurely and fall from the tree.

The good news is that powdery mildew is more ugly than harmful. Your tree will likely fight off the powdery mildew during one growing season and the problem probably won't come back the following year if you use a little care.

Call in a tree care service to remove the fuzzy leaves from the tree and the ground surrounding the tree. Make sure the tree is well-fertilized but neither over fertilized or over-watered going into the next growing season.

Spot Anthracnose

Spot anthracnose is a fungal tree disease that causes darkened reddish spots to form on the leaves near the veins or the flowers. The spots are usually relatively small, but a large quantity of them can form on a leaf or flower petal to the point that the affected surface can look mostly red.

The condition is nearly harmless for the tree and can be fought off. But you can still call in a tree trimming service to remove any affected leaves or flowers to keep your tree looking as attractive as possible. You can minimize the risk of the disease coming back by making sure the tree doesn't become overly moist during wet weather.

Botrytis Blight

Botrytis blight causes a brown-gray mold to form on the dogwood's flowers. The mold will form circular dots that have a pinkish outer rim that looks inflamed. Mold will grow thicker on the petals until moving on to the nearby leaves and then potentially spread throughout the tree.

The blight is again mostly a cosmetic problem though there is some risk of photosynthesis blocking and dieback. But calling in a tree care service to remove the affected petals early in the disease will minimize its spread and any potential damage to the tree.

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