Sticky Leaves ???

Discussion in 'HortForum' started by MaFranceAG, Oct 5, 2012.

  1. MaFranceAG

    MaFranceAG Member

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    I have a tree in my backyard which I've always said it is a lilac tree (?? We bought the house withthe tree already planted). A few years back, wenoticed the tree didn't grow leaves nor flowered for the spring/summer month. During the second year of this happening, my husband said he was going to have it cut. Before he got to do it, I saw some budding which gave me home. He prund the tree instead, cutting off anything that seemed dead and had no signs of "life", but kept the branches with the budding on them.
    The tree did row green leaves, and flowere on the following year. (It's been 5-6 yrs since...but I've noticed, the last couple of years, that the leaves are sticky. I don't remember that problem before, during the other 5-6 years prior to th tree not giving us leaves. Even after the tree "returned" it didn't have a sticky substance on the leaves, but the last couple of years it has. This yearsis really bad.
    I decided to go online and research it, and stumbled onto tis forum. It seems to be that theremight be an infestation on my tree :(
    I've attached pictures. As you ca see, the trunk lost one side of its bark during the no-leave years. There are some dark patches... is my tree sick? I do have a certain affection for this tree...I call it the "miracle tree" because I felt "miraculously" prompted to prune it, and it did come back to life.
    PLease, advise.

    P.S. Is that sticky substance harmful to dogs? My pomeranian got into the leaves and they all stuck to her coat. I'm still giving her a bath, but she licked most of them off her coat.
    Thank you.
     

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  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    There's bugs all over it, which can be seen in your leaf picture. The stickiness is the sugars they have pooped out.
     
  3. Sundrop

    Sundrop Well-Known Member

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    Trees can't survive without bark. The damage to the bark on your tree looks too extensive to give any hope that the tree will ever do well. It is in a very bad shape, and the bugs are not the cause but the symptom of the problem.
    I sympathize with your affection for the tree but, in my opinion, the best thing you can do is to cut it down because it will never get better. If you will cut it down early in spring there is hope it will send basal shoots with new healthy growth, but it is only hope, not certainty.
     
  4. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Not sure what it is, but it isn't a lilac - lilacs have opposite leaves, this plant has alternate leaves. Might be a crabapple or hawthorn or similar, but the pics aren't clear enough to tell.

    Can you get some more close-up pics of the foliage please? Also a pic of the trunk from the other side, to see how much bark it has on that side.
     
  5. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Not a Malus or Prunus as, for starters, branching inflorescence stalks are visible in the first photo. Since poster is located in Sacramento it could be something subtropical that is not as familiar to most of us in colder climates, has been getting nailed by occasional sharp frosts which kill the bark on one side.
     
    Last edited: Oct 6, 2012
  6. Michael F

    Michael F Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator 10 Years

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    Agree - missed that inflorescence when I looked before!
     

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