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Times-Call / Home & Real Estate Weekly
June 25, 2011
Be aware of blistering caused by rain witting hosts to this disease. After a warm, dry winter the cool rain in spring was a welcome sight. Though I unSymptoms at this point in summer are derstand my friends and relalight green to yellow, blistertives in moist climates are getlike, circular, raised areas up to 1 ting mighty sick of water drop/2 inch in size, but larger areas ping from the sky, I find it asare forming as the blisters tonishing since I rarely see it. merge. They’re covering the So with joy I enjoyed day-long top of the leaf, with sunken rains and stubbornly cool temgray spots on the lower surface. peratures, even though it Later, they’ll turn reddish meant a delay in planting the brown with pale yellow margarden. gins, and ultimately become Carol O’Meara dull brown. Though the disease But the goodness of rain isn’t Colorado State doesn’t cause leaf drop, the tree always a boon; sometimes that University Extension might loose its leaves earlier in moisture brings out the thugs the fall. of summer, and our poor plants, unaccustomed to mounting a deOak leaf blister attacks during early leaf fense, get caught with disease. Returning growth, enlarging and distorting leaf cells. from weeks spent out of state, I’ve discovUninfested cells remain normal, so blisters ered my favorite tree is in such a situation. form and leaf curling is common. Older The Burr oak out front has oak leaf blister leaves aren’t infected. disease, which shows up in cool, moist In years with severe outbreak, up to 85 springs. percent of the leaves can be infested, interCaused by the fungus Taphrina rupting photosynthesis and stressing the caerulescens, all oaks are susceptible, with tree. This can reduce growth and, if repeatthe red and black oaks most at risk. Under ed throughout the years, may weaken the the right conditions, which we had this tree so that it is susceptible to attack by year, oaks along the Front Range are unother organisms.
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Because a fungus is the culprit, spores form on the infested leaves, blowing about or being carried by water, hopping birds or insects to new leaves. The spores overwinter in the buds and under bud scales, lurking there until spring pushes newly emerging leaves the following year. If it’s a wet season, the disease will run havoc over the leaves. There is only one cycle of disease per year, so by the time you’ve noticed the symptoms, it’s too late to control it. Chemically controlling leaf blister is usually not warranted since our springs are usually on the dry side. But in years when we do get rain, homeowners may try to treat with fungicide, which must be applied while the tree is still dormant. A better plan is to keep the tree as healthy as possible through watering, pruning and controlling insects. Raking up and destroying all infested leaves will remove some of the source for spores. Carol O’Meara is a horticulture entomologist with the Colorado State University Extension office at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont. Contact her by calling 303-678-6238 or emailing comeara@co.boulder.co.us. For more gardening tips, check out her blog at gardeningafterfive.word press.com.
Designing with Geometrics Size Things Up Scale is the most important part to keep in mind when introducing a geometric, or really any pattern, into a room, says New York designer Elizabeth Bauer. If you pair, say, a large pillow pattern with a small one, the larger pattern will certainly overshadow the small. An easy rule of thumb: pair geometric shapes with the next-largest or -smallest pattern. Ground Your Graphics Bold prints may win your attention when you enter a room, but your eyes inevitably need a place to rest. Create a few spots in between using solid color. They’ll help ground the geometric patterns and keep it from feeling overly busy. – HGTV
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