Native Plants

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

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Tuesday - July 05, 2011

From: Houston, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Trees
Title: Having a problem with my Mexican Plum in Houston, TX.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills

QUESTION:

I am having problems with the Mexican Plum Tree in my backyard, sap is oozing from the branches and several large branches have died. I am inclined to think that it I have infestation of borers? How do I know this for certain and how can I help the tree survive.

ANSWER:

You may be right, but another possibility could be canker caused by either a fungus or a bacteria. Since we are not plant pathologists, I am going to refer you to the Harris County office of Texas AgriLife Extension for help in identifying the cause of the problem.

These two links, one from North Dakota University and the other from ehow.com, have information about cankering in fruit trees.

This article from texasgardener.com has some sort of philosophical musings on losing fruit trees.

From the Image Gallery

Mexican plum
Prunus mexicana