Beech Tree / Brown Leaves

[Jake in Maryland]

University of Maryland Extension Expert provided the following answer (He did not have benefit of pictures) Here's the response to your question: This is likely and appears to be a type of anthracnose disease (perhaps Discula), which can be common on various shade trees in spring. Cool weather and, to a lesser extent, wet weather can favor development of the disease. https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/topics/shade-tree-anthracnose-trees https://extension.psu.edu/anthracnose-on-shade-trees Unfortunately, control is typically not practical, and this time of year it would be too late to apply preventative treatments. If a fungicide is warranted given the repeated infection of your tree, treatment by an arborist or licensed tree-care company would be needed given its size. For the time being, discarding any fallen leaves and minimizing tree stress (irrigating during summer or autumn droughts, for instance) is the only practical approach. Miri Answered by the Home and Garden Information Center (HGIC), University of Maryland Extension horticultural consultants. For more information on a variety of gardening and pest topics visit our website http://extension.umd.edu/hgic. **** I shall treat the tree accordingly and research provided information. Thank you (everyone) for your interest in this problem and your suggestions and advice. I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. Jake