Garden Q&A: Why is my birch tree wilting and how can I save it?

Whether you're a gardening beginner or expert, Irish Examiner columnist Peter Dowdall has the answer to your questions

Established birch trees should be strong enough to cope with fungal infection. File picture

The leaves on my birch tree have lots of rusty orange spots and it's beginning to wilt. I don’t know what's eating it — what can I do?

ANSWER

This is nothing to do with any insect and nothing is eating your birch leaves. What you are describing is a fungal rust. 

Powdery, orange-coloured pustules form on the leaves, normally on the undersides. If it is an established tree, I wouldn’t be concerned as it should be strong enough to cope with this infection.

The best course of action is to prune the tree during the winter months. 

What you want to achieve with pruning is to create a good open crown which will allow good air circulation throughout. 

Remove crossing and inward-facing branches. If the crown gets too congested, it leads to poor air circulation and ideal conditions for the development of rust and other fungal problems.

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