What's turning these cedars black.

[Vicente]

Anyone know what this is seen a pretty decent amount of it this year my first thoughts were fireblight but a Google search didn't return anything about it affecting cedars.

 

[Scottyfpv]

I was told it's a fungus by someone who has it on his trees after I asked about it.

 

[Vicente]

I was told it's a fungus by someone who has it on his trees after I asked about it.

I thought it might be that it's tearing the cedars up around here.

 

[ATH]

cannot be fireblight. that is isolated to Roseaceae family...

Do you know what species cedar?

Botryosphaeria canker? is the first that comes to mind...but I'm in the Midwest, not CA so things change pretty drastically!

Look through these and see if anything stands out:

Managing Pests in Gardens: Diseases: Canker Table—UC IPM

Information about managing pests of gardens and landscapes, from UC IPM.

ipm.ucanr.edu

 

[Vicente]

cannot be fireblight. that is isolated to Roseaceae family...

Do you know what species cedar?

Botryosphaeria canker? is the first that comes to mind...but I'm in the Midwest, not CA so things change pretty drastically!

Look through these and see if anything stands out:

Managing Pests in Gardens: Diseases: Canker Table—UC IPM

Information about managing pests of gardens and landscapes, from UC IPM.

ipm.ucanr.edu

I believe they're incense cedars, it could be botryosphaeria canker I didn't see any images that showed the same sort of discoloration though, they're black black like they've been burned.

 

[Scottyfpv]

Might be Sooty mold(fungus) that grows on honeydew droppings. Can be associated with resin and sap supposedly.

 

[Vicente]

Might be Sooty mold(fungus) that grows on honeydew droppings. Can be associated with resin and sap supposedly.

I looked at that, so far it seems the most likely.

 

[Matias]

I have been told that it's a fungus, though I don't know which one, and that it's more common in dense thickets, and on specimens not receiving enough sunlight to stop it.

 

[Vicente]

I have been told that it's a fungus, though I don't know which one, and that it's more common in dense thickets, and on specimens not receiving enough sunlight to stop it.

Yes this particular property is thick, we're actually going to be back early next week before the storm rolls in to try to get a bunch of the smaller stuff run through the track chipper and get some more space and sunshine in there.

 

[Matias]

Yes this particular property is thick, we're actually going to be back early next week before the storm rolls in to try to get a bunch of the smaller stuff run through the track chipper and get some more space and sunshine in there.

I'll bet dimes to dollars that the remaining trees won't have problems.

I see that fungus all over the forests

 

[Scottyfpv]

Giant Conifer aphid might be the Cedar aphid, 175 conifer aphid species worldwide..... Aphids are nuts, damn things clone themselves are and born pregnant. Need something to feed all those hungry lady bugs we have in our Sierras. I wonder if Conifer Aphid butt juice tastes like Mountain Dew?

 

[TreeCo]

Seiridium canker.

Zoom in and you can see the cankers on the trunk.

Just a guess.

 

[Scottyfpv]

Okay this case looks like it's from scales and not aphids.

''Sooty mold is commonly found on the trunks of small trees. This is because incense cedar scale prefers the underside of loose flaky bark typically found on the smaller cedars or, sometimes, the limbs of larger ones. White waxy threads surround the scale under the bark. Since fungi thrive in dark, moist places, the growth of sooty mold is predominant in areas that receive minimal amounts of sunlight. As a result, small cedars in dense stands exhibit a greater abundance of ‘black bark’ than those in isolation. Also, growth of the mold typically occurs on lower portions of trees that are shaded compared to upper portions that are exposed to sunlight. Interestingly, infestations of scale are more commonly found in native groupings of cedars than those found in urban areas.''

https://ucanr.edu/sites/Tuolumne_County_Master_Gardeners/files/165984.pdf

 

[Mowerr]

Does this happen to various hardwoods in the northeast? I'm in New york and see this black stuff on hard woods too. I've got a customer that says it's spreading and is asking me how to handle it.
Should I look to get more sunlight on the trees in question or is there some other way to treat it?

 

[Mowerr]

The trees I've seen the black stuff on still look healthy too. We have been getting a lot more rain up here than we ever have. The trees i see this on do look like they should be getting plenty of sun but maybe it's only on the back side the sun doesn't reach?

 

[Reach]

Does this happen to various hardwoods in the northeast? I'm in New york and see this black stuff on hard woods too. I've got a customer that says it's spreading and is asking me how to handle it.
Should I look to get more sunlight on the trees in question or is there some other way to treat it?

Here in PA we have a lot of Sooty Mold, almost exclusively growing on/caused by the excrement of the Spotted Lanternfly. Have they made it up to you yet? Might be something to look into.

 

[ATH]

Pics of the hardwoods you are seeing???...lots of things can leave black spots of various shapes, sizes, or formations on the trunk. First few that come to mind:
Sooty mold (as @Reach said)
bacterial wetwood
hypoxylon canker
Oak wilt pressure plates
Lichen
Kretzschmaria
etc...