Emerald ash borer

Extinction Before Our Eyes

We rarely see plants or animals become extinct before our eyes. Extinction is often something far away and abstract – it happened long ago or far away. Yet right now before our eyes, one of the most important groups of trees is vanishing. Ash trees, in the genus Fraxinus, are rapidly disappearing, and there is […]

A farewell to the autumn colors of ash trees

Ash trees, especially white ash, are among our most reliable and beautiful trees for fall color. White ash shows rich shades of red, purple, yellow and green, all within the same trees and the Biltmore ash variety is cloaked in yellow and orange hues. Green ash takes on an astonishingly bright yellow hue. Sadly, the […]

Ash trees losing leaves

How do your ash trees look?

Have you noticed any ash trees in your neighborhood dropping green leaves? Several days of heavy rain over the last few weeks have allowed the development of a common ash disease called ash anthracnose. The disease is caused by a fungus, Gnomoniella fraxini. The fungus spends the winter on old petioles (leaf stalks) and branches. […]