Arbutus Marina Tree Care and Common Problems

It pays to know the Arbutus Marina Tree Care and common problems, especially when you have one at home. The Arbutus Marina tree is beautiful, blessed with dark green leaves and white to pink flowers. It is from the arbutus family, commonly known as the strawberry trees. Even with its slow growth, the tree can become evergreen and drought-resistant.

Arbutus marina grows to become a large tree of up to 40 feet and more than 20 feet in width. It produces flowers all season round, which peaks in the fall. The flower is pendant shaped and grows into a red fruit. It can simultaneously have mature red fruits and younger yellow ones on it. This makes the tree arbutus a beauty to behold.

The fruit is close relative in taste to the common strawberry fruit. It has a milder taste than strawberry fruit and has a more gritty texture. The tree grows best in well-drained soil with a lot of sunlight.

Arbutus Marina Tree Care

Being an evergreen tree, robust and hardy, it can withstand adverse conditions. Nonetheless, it requires care and attention for proper growth. Here is a list of ways to take good care of your Arbutus marina tree.

Soil and Water Conditions

It is vital to ensure the tree is planted in well-drained, well-aerated loam soil. The soil should be well watered but not water-logged. Excess water causes the root to rot. It also encourages the development of the disease Phytophthora root rot.

In the earlier stages, the soil around it should be mulched. This helps to keep the right amount of water in the soil around the roots.

Sunlight

The Arbutus marina tree requires a high amount of sunlight for proper growth. It requires over 8 hours of sunshine per day. This makes it imperative to plant the tree in a well-exposed location. It is also necessary to clear whatever can shield it from enjoying a full dose of the sun.

Pruning

This can be an activity that helps expose the whole of the tree to adequate sunshine. Pruning is required to ensure the tree grows in a particular shape. But more importantly, pruning is needed for proper aeration and sunlight exposure. It also helps the plant to grow healthier leaves and branches.

Once dense, the internal foliage can shield sunlight from the other parts of the tree. This is an excellent place to prune when it becomes thick. Pruning helps improve the health of the plant. It is best to prune after the fruiting peak in the winter or fall.

Protection from the Wind

This is more important when the tree is still young. Strong wind can also break the branches even when well-grown. So the tree must be protected by strong wings to avoid breaking its branches. Strong can also shed flowers and fruits prematurely.

Manure and Weeding

Organic manure is excellent for the Arbutus marina. Weeding is required while the tree is growing to avoid unhealthy competition. As it grows, the canopy hinders the growth of weeds. It is also needed to protect the plant from frost. The plant can be covered when there is severe frost.

Arbutus marina is not usually affected by pests and diseases. But some do disturb the tree. At various stages of tree growth, here is a list of pests that can infest it.

Pests Of Arbutus Marina Tree

Aphids

These insects are known to attack several plants. The wooly aphid can attack the tree, especially when younger or in new growth areas. They attack the roots, branches, and tree bark. The aphids cause stunted growth due to the cankers and galls they produce through their activities.

These insects can also be a source of more harmful viruses to the tree. As the aphids feed, they release substances called honeydew.

Sooty molds feed on this substance (honeydew). Though the molds do not cause severe damage, their dense growth can reduce the tree’s aesthetics. The aphids can be controlled with insecticide sprays. The use of horticultural soap is a much safer and more organic means. There is less effect on beneficial insects that may be in the vicinity.

Thrips

Mainly a threat to younger Arbutus trees. Thrips are tiny insects that have piercing mouthparts. They use their mouthparts to bore holes into the leaves and stems of the tree. They can even do some damage to the back of young trees. Galls develop on the plant parts and can cause stunted growth and wilting of parts. They can also be the source of sooty mold attacks on the leaves. The best way to deal with thrips is to use pesticides.

Neem oil, sulfur dust, horticultural oil, a spray of imidacloprid, and dimethoate are effective.

Sharpshooters

The sharpshooters are a group of glassy-winged leafhoppers. These insects have sucking mouthparts. They suck fluid from different parts of the Arbutus marina. They generally do not cause severe damage to the tree but can be detrimental in large numbers. The use of insecticidal sprays is enough to get rid of these insects.

Soft Scale and Cotton Scale

These sap-sucking insects suck the sap of the Arbutus tree. The cotton scale lay a white cottony egg. When they hatch, the young scales form a colony by producing white cotton-like material around themselves. They suck out the cell content of the tree as the group around them leave veins. Insecticidal sprays are the control methods against soft and cotton scales. Neem oil can be used, or horticultural soap and oil can also be used.

Mealybugs

With their white cotton-like waxy covering, mealy bugs consume the cell sap of plants. Their white cottony coverings can reduce photosynthesis by covering the infested area of the plant from sunlight. They also secrete honeydew, which can further interfere with photosynthesis. Infested trees can be treated with insecticides to rid them of the bugs.

Wooly Adelgids

These are tiny insects that suck the sap of Arbutus trees. Wooly Adelgids lay their eggs covered in a white fuzzy casing. They mainly feed and reside on the leaves of the tree. They can be controlled using insecticide spray or water from a hose. Pests are not the only problems that can affect the Arbutus marina tree.

As has been seen, these pests can also be the source of diseases. Some diseases can affect the tree, and here is a list:

Arbutus Marina Diseases

Fungi are the main causal agents of disease that affect the Arbutus marina tree. Fungicide, the chemical agent for controlling fungi, is most used to curb these diseases.

Phytophthora

These are organisms similar to filamentous fungi but also related to algae. They are sometimes called water molds. They infect plant roots and can cause them to rot. In the Arbutus marina case, too much water in the soil can predispose to Phytophthora infections. The root and the crown of the tree rot as the infection progresses.

The leaves get discolored, water-soaked, and retarded in growth. Young trees may die quickly from the infection, but older ones may take longer.

The use of fungicides can help prevent Phytophthora infection. It is also essential to keep the soil well-drained to discourage Phytophthora growth.

Powdery Mildew

White powdery fungal growth on leaves is powdery mildew. This disease causes the leaves to become discolored, stunted, and, many times, fall off the tree. The powdery growth covers the leaf surface, hindering photosynthesis. Spraying with neem oil and fungicides controls and prevents the disease.

Anthracnose

This is a fungal disease that can affect the leaves, stems, flowers, and fruits of the Arbutus marina tree. Anthracnose is also called tree blight. The young trees are more in danger of this disease. It causes a dark lesion on the infected parts, and the destroyed tissues can kill it.

The fungi can quickly spread during water splashes when rain falls. The spores are transported to plant parts. Fungicides are the means of controlling anthracnose.

Rust

This is also a fungal disease that causes yellow or orange powdery masses to form on leaves. Fungal spores make up these powdery masses. These spores spread to other parts through wind, insects, and water. The disease causes cankers and tissue swellings on the infected leaves. You can use fungicides to control the spread of rust on the Arbutus marina.

Advantages and Disadvantages of an Arbutus Marina Tree

Because they are evergreen, and like all other evergreen trees, arbutus marina trees don’t lose all their leaves at once in the fall or any different season. And if you have this in your backyard, you can always find fallen leaves under this tree, also called a strawberry tree. Moreover, the area around the tree becomes muddy and moist, especially when it rains. While the tree rises to 25–30 feet, you might begin to imagine all the leaves under this tree. Fortunately, the arbutus tree grows slowly, adding only 12 inches to its yearly height.

So generally, it is a beneficial tree to have in your backyard or garden, and they are safe to plant in backyards too. Moreover, the fruits are tasty, and the blooms are lovely.

However, it tastes nothing like a strawberry, even though it looks like one. Instead of being consumed as a fruit, it is more well-known for being used to make jams and alcoholic drinks.

Care Is Important

You can plant the Arbutus marina tree for its beauty or the fruits. Irrespective of your reason, taking care of the tree for proper growth is necessary. The care begins from an early stage. Bear in mind the best soil condition for the tree. Pruning comes as one of the early caregiving. Remember that this helps the plant to see more sunlight.

It is crucial to keep the soil well-drained to keep Phytophthora out. When insects visit of indest, neem oil and other pesticides should be handy. Fungicides are the final piece of the puzzle, from preventing rust, phytophthora, mildew, and anthracnose to treating them. The Arbutus marina tree needs all the care it can get.