Fire Blight

/Home/Garden Basics/Plant & Lawn Care/Garden Problems and Solutions/Garden Plant Diseases/Fire Blight Disease

Apples, crabapples and pears are susceptible in spring to a bacterial disease known as fire blight (fireblight). The most noticeable symptom is the sudden death of the new leaves at the end of a branch. The dead sprouts may be scattered on the tree or may only occur on one side. If many branches on a pear tree are infected, they may all turn black, like the tree was burned, leading to the name “fire blight”. It is spread mainly by bees and flies that visit infected flowers when the tree is blooming and then take the disease to other parts of the tree.

©2011, Walter Reeves / The Simple Gardener, Inc. All Rights Reserved.