this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2025

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What's wrong with these birch trees? (sh.itjust.works)

submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

10 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Apologies if the photo quality is insufficient. In a particular bit of forest, I found an area with a large birch population that all seemed to be suffering from the same issue. Something is causing the leaves to first stripe green and yellow, then turn brown/black, and while there are new leaf buds forming, trees are seemingly losing the leaves faster than they can replace them. There are other areas with birch trees on the same forest that don't have this issue at all. In the affected area, some trees have only one or two leaves left with any green in them at all.

This is in New England, USA

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Sadly the birch tree borer is wrecking havoc on the birch trees. Where I am in the Midwest, we have completely dead forests from that stupid bug.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

That's kind of what I was wondering, the bronze birch borer has been expanding its range and it's definitely in some areas around my state already

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Do you know if neem is effective against them?

[–] [email protected] 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (4 children)

I believe these are beech trees, not birches, and they appear to be suffering from beech leaf disease which is a newly introduced and highly deadly species of nematode.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 days ago

I've got 99 birches, and a beech ain't one.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago

Agreed, birch leaves are serrated, these look like beeches

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Ah thank you, I bet you're right. We've got a ton of both.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

It's sad because they were already suffering from beech bark disease but this is even worse.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

I go hunting many times a year and as you can imagine find myself surrounded by old birch forests from time to time.

I have yet to see a healthy group of birch trees. I even have birch on my property, and the only ones that are doing well are surrounded by anything other than birch.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Birches be crazy...