My Redbud Panic Started
Last Tuesday morning, I wandered out back with my coffee. Planned to just enjoy the sun near my favorite Eastern Redbud tree. Stopped dead in my tracks. Saw these weird bumps and discolorations on the leaves that weren’t there last week. My gut went “Uh oh.”
Grabbed my old magnifying glass – the one with the chipped handle. Leaned right into the branches, squinting hard. Found three main types of mess. First, leaves covered in a powdery white stuff, like baby powder got dumped on them. Second, nasty dark spots with ugly yellow rings around ’em. Third, some leaves looked all curled up and twisted, like they were melted.
Figuring Out What Went Wrong
Knew I needed pics. Went back inside, cursed at my phone charging slow, finally snatched it. Marched right back out.
- Shot the powdery leaves: Zoomed in super close so you could see the gritty texture. Made sure to catch the sun hitting it.
- Snapped the ugly spots: Took pictures from above and below the leaves. Some spots looked way worse underneath.
- Documented the mutant leaves: Took pics from different angles to show how warped and gross they looked.
Felt like some plant detective, honestly. Neighbors probably thought I lost it.
The Annoying Research Bit
Sitting at the kitchen table later, coffee cold. Pulled up pics on my laptop. Started searching online. Typed things like “redbud leaves white powder,” “dark spots on redbud tree.” Felt like falling down a rabbit hole.
- Powdery Mildew: Kept popping up for the white stuff. Looked exactly like my pics. Loves damp, shady spots – which explained the corner where my tree sits.
- Cercospora Leaf Spot: Saw pics matching my dark spots with yellow halos. Thrives in wet weather? Had tons of rain lately. Made sense.
- Botryosphaeria Canker: Seemed possible for the twisted leaves, maybe branches dying back, which I also spotted a bit. Not as sure on this one.
Honestly? Felt overwhelmed. Different sites said slightly different things. Just wanted a simple “this is what this looks like” cheat sheet.
Why I Made This Spotting Guide
Got frustrated enough that I decided to slap my photos together with the clearest info I could piece together. Took my messy phone pics, grouped them by the disease signs I actually saw on MY tree. Skipped the super technical jargon. Just thought: “What would help me spot this next time?”
- Powdery Mildew: Picture = super obvious white powder coating the leaf like flour. Easy. Powdery Mildew.
- Leaf Spot: Picture = nasty brown/black spots with that creepy yellow border. Circle it. Leaf Spot.
- Warped Leaves/Cankers: Picture = shriveled, curled leaves or dead patches on branches. Possible canker.
That’s the whole point. Took me ages clicking through garbage search results. Just saved you the headache. If your redbud looks like any of these pics, you’ve got a starting point. Hope it saves someone else an hour of panicked Googling.
