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Extension > Garden > Diagnose a problem > What's wrong with my plant? > Deciduous > Sumac > Dead branches or branch or shoot dieback

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Sumac > Stems/branches > Dead branches or branch or shoot dieback

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Oystershell scale
Lepidosaphes ulmi

  • Light to moderate infestations show little or no symptoms
  • Severe infestations can cause chlorotic, stunted foliage
  • Dieback and cracked bark can result from heavy infestations
  • Light to dark brown, elongated, 1/10 to 1/8 inch long oyster-shell shaped scales found on bark
  • More information on Oystershell Scale
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Verticillium wilt
Verticillium dahliae

  • Leaves on one to several branches turn red to yellow, wilt, die and fall off
  • Dark olive to gray streaks are often visible in the sapwood if the bark is peeled back
  • Symptoms often seen in one to a few branches but may spread to the entire canopy
  • Symptoms are often most obvious in late summer and autumn but can occur throughout the growing season
  • More information on verticillium wilt
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Botryosphaeria canker
Botryoshaeria spp.

  • Leaves on one or more branches wilt, die and turn brown
  • Cankers are sunken, dark colored areas on branches
  • Fungal fruiting bodies give canker area a rough or pimpled appearance
  • Infected young shoots turn dark brown and curl over in a shepherd's crook
  • More information on Botryosphaeria canker

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