Since this is the time that we are buying new things for our gardens, maybe we should be very careful to buy locally.

I understand that Florida has also stopped shipments from California.

PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 15, 2004
For information contact:
Arty Schronce or Jackie Sosby
(404) 656-3689


Serious threat to forests, city trees, gardens
Georgia Agriculture Dept. Quarantines
All Nursery Plants from California

ATLANTA – The Georgia Department of Agriculture has issued a quarantine against all nursery plants from California due to a serious fungal disease found in at least one nursery that ships plants into Georgia and due to the possibility of the disease in other California nurseries that may ship into the state.

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin issued the quarantine today following notification that the Sudden Oak Death fungus (Phytophthora ramorum) had been discovered on camellias at Monrovia Nursery, Azusa, California, a major supplier of many kinds of plants to garden centers across the country. The disease has also been discovered in Specialty Plants, Inc., San Marcos, California. Department of Agriculture personnel are working to determine if that nursery shipped any plants to Georgia.

"There are 11 other California nurseries where high risk samples have been taken," Commissioner Irvin said. "The California Department of Food and Agriculture has said they are 90 percent sure the samples are positive for the disease, but they will not quarantine the nurseries and have said they will not release the names of the nurseries until the samples are confirmed positive – probably sometime next week. We are closing the borders to all California nurseries today until they release the names of the 11 nurseries," said Commissioner Irvin.

"Sudden Oak Death is an extremely serious disease. It not only affects oaks but other plants as well including azaleas, rhododendrons, maples, beeches and buckeyes. This has the potential to be more devastating than Chestnut Blight, which wiped out virtually all stands of the native American chestnut in the 1930s. The cost to lumber companies, homeowners, gardeners, and cities would be overwhelming and the damage to wildlife and our landscape would be heartbreaking," said Irvin.

.....Alan.

"Sudden Oak Death is not harmful to humans or animals, but is a serious fungal disease that affects not only oaks but also other plants including rhododendrons, camellias, azaleas and viburnums,"

This was taken from a press release from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture.

There are many Internet websites that have posted photos of SOD symptoms on various plant hosts. Your best bet is to type 'sudden oak death' into a search engine and you should be able to see symptoms. Below is a basic summary of symptoms for some of the hosts most likely to be purchased in Louisiana:

Azaleas: Look for shoot/twig and leaf blight. Affected shoots or twigs develop a brown to black discoloration that spreads along the twig and can spread into the leaves via leaf petioles. Symptoms include blackening of the petiole (leaf stalk), leaf base and leaf tip and may extend along the leaf mid-rib. Twig cankers can result in wilted shoots; in such cases leaves remain attached but may not develop any spots. Leaf infection can also occur without twig infection. Roots are unaffected.
Symptoms are similar to those caused by other Phytophthora spp. on azaleas (and rhododendrons), but the development of symptoms can be more rapid.

Viburnum: Infection commonly occurs at the stem base causing wilting then death. You may also see brown to black leaf infections. Flowers may also be affected.

Pieris and Vaccinium: Look for brown stem lesions that lead to aerial dieback and leaf symptoms as described on azalea / rhododendron.

Camellia, Kalmia, Syringa (lilac) and Leucothoe: Usually only leaf infections are seen. Leaf lesions are usually brown to black areas,typically occurring at the tip or edges of the leaves. On camellia, some shoots have also been found to be infected, leading to dieback.