While all the diseases named in your article about the madronas are present, I would concur with Lutz that much of the damage we are seeing at this time is due to the Thanksgiving freeze. I remember after the 1988-89 winter freeze, most of the madronas turned black, defoliated, and didn’t flush out with new growth until late spring.

Our fall of 2010 was very mild, and plants had not yet shut down for the winter. A sudden freeze can affect natives. I’m also seeing a lot of damage from that freeze in ornamentals.

It may just be my imagination, but the past few years seem to have had a lot of cool cloudy days with no rain or wind – perfect conditions for all kinds of fungus.  Fungus is an extremely difficult problem to solve. What we can hope for is some sun!

Jeff Bossler

Orcas Island