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treeguy123

The most insect and disease resistant trees?

treeguy123
9 years ago

What would you say is the most resistant trees to insects and disease. Basically I'm talking about trees that have no life threatening insect or disease known to attack them, and little to no cosmetic damaging insect and diseases.

I would say #1 might be Ginkgo. Are there any close or matching contenders?

This post was edited by treeguy123 on Sat, Jan 17, 15 at 20:47

Comments (17)

  • Iris GW
    9 years ago

    Is it fair to say that the #1 tree for resistance is a non-native tree that left it's insect friends behind?

    With some exceptions, insects co-exist with their co-evolved plants just fine. The pests that have decimated some of the US trees came from somewhere else.

  • treeguy123
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yep that is true.
    I wonder if any insects or disease is life threatening to Ginkgo in there China native habitat? It seems like they may have perhaps outlived any possible major damaging insects and disease, and nothing is known to attack them very bad. It's very neat how long lived and how pest/disease free they are.

    After reading some is seems Caligula japonica is the only thing that sporadically attack the foliage in rare outbreaks in Asia, but Ginkgo is not the first choice tree. Any other pest is not a issue in there native habitat or worldwide, which is pretty significant.

    This post was edited by treeguy123 on Sat, Jan 17, 15 at 23:49

  • Hurtle
    9 years ago

    Hardy rubber tree has latex inside the leaves. You can see it if you tear a leaf. I'd imagine that'd be mighty unpalatable to just about anything eating the leaves.

  • bengz6westmd
    9 years ago

    Ginkgo, osage orange, Kentucky coffee tree, Norway spruce, dawn redwood.

  • treeguy123
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yeah Hardy rubber tree is one that is a good top contender, I have one of these. This genus used to be native the the U.S. (From the fossil record).

    Osage orange is very a tough tree, but it has been known to die from Verticillium wilt in the northeast. Kentucky coffee tree can also be killed by Verticillium wilt.

    Norway spruce is known to have several pests that can strongly affect the health of the tree if it gets enough infestation.

    Dawn redwood looks to be fairly pest free, but there is reportedly a canker disease that can attack it. And Japanese beetles love the foliage.

    This post was edited by treeguy123 on Sun, Jan 18, 15 at 13:49

  • subtropix
    9 years ago

    How do does M.grandiflora rank? I would say terrific, but some critter (maybe, caterpillar) still manages to nibble on the upper canopy foliage in late Summer, no less.

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    Southern magnolia is prone to multiple problems including insects and fungi. Norway spruce, like most spruce here in Zone 8 often gets conspicuous bald or thin sections due to the activities of sucking pests.

    If you look at encyclopedias, manuals or web sites that give lists of pests and diseases for each genus or species you can see how big of a team is after each kind. I have the 2004 edition of the A-Z Encyclopedia (DK Publishing) sitting right here, for gingko it says

    "Fungal leaf spots, mealybugs, lesion nematode, and root rots sometimes occur"

    Good old root pathogens including honey fungus can be quite prevalent and wide-ranging, with water molds in particular thought to have had considerable economic impacts on the raising of nursery crops - I am not surprised that ginkgo does not completely escape root pathogens (and nematodes).

  • treeguy123
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    M. grandiflora does have some pest, but is usually not bothered badly. It is one tree that's susceptible to Verticillium wilt however.

    Ginkgo does have a few pest and leaf spot fungus but they are are never a big issue it seems. I've read their leaves naturally contain a type of toxin that insects hate. The root rot is only a possible issue in constantly poor draining and wet soils. The root knot nematodes look to be the only possible main issue that bboy pointed out. It would be neat if it could be grafted to a nematode resistant root stock if any could be found.

    The Ginkgo nematodes may have placed Hardy rubber tree at #1.

    This post was edited by treeguy123 on Sun, Jan 18, 15 at 18:38

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    9 years ago

    I see a number of Kentucky coffee trees suffering from something around here. In fact, I was a little surprised to see an older, super healthy one a while back. I so hope that my little ones enjoy a long and happy life when they grow up.

    Thinking about southern magnolias, I cannot remember seeing one significantly bothered by any pest or disease, around here. They seem about as bullet proof as any tree I can think of.

  • edlincoln
    9 years ago

    Eastern Red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is a North American native that is awfully disease resistant in it's native range. The wood is chock full of natural pesticides and immune to most of the common disease that afflict conifers in my area.

    I've heard good things about the disease resistance of paw paw (Asimona triloba).

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    9 years ago

    Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) seems to be pretty immune to anything.

  • alexander3_gw
    9 years ago

    >I've heard good things about the disease resistance of paw paw
    >(Asimona triloba).

    Yes, they are pretty much disease free. Japanese beetles will chew the leaves though.

  • gardenprincethenetherlandsZ7/8
    9 years ago

    Phellodendron amurense is pretty disease free (so far as I know). In some regions considered to be invasive (seeds germinate readily).

  • lkz5ia
    9 years ago

    Dirr mentions in a book that him and others have saw dieback of branches in hardy rubber trees, attributing it to disease.

  • treeguy123
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Hmm, that's weird, I wonder what it's caused by.

  • treeguy123
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I read about a hardy rubber tree in Delaware that got Ganoderma root rot following root damage after construction equipment driving by the tree. This lead to gradual decline and branch die back.