Tree disease
Laurel Wilt
A fatal wilt of trees in the laurel family, carried into the wood by a tiny ambrosia beetle. Redbay, swampbay and avocado are the hosts that matter here. Trees wilt fast and hold their dead leaves. Oaks, maples and most landscape trees are not hosts.
Trees it affects: Redbay, Swampbay, Avocado, Sassafras, Camphor
- Affects
- Redbay, Swampbay, Avocado, Sassafras and more
- When it shows
- Year-round. Death follows in about three weeks to three months.
- What we do first
- Confirm the tree is in the laurel family, then check the sapwood.
What you see
Signs in the field
- Rapid wilt of a green canopy
- Leaves turning purplish or bluish green, then brown
- Dead, dry leaves that stay hanging on the tree
- Dark blue-brown to black streaks in the sapwood under the bark
- Toothpick-like tubes of sawdust, or powdery dust, and small dark holes on the trunk
How it kills
A beetle carrying the fungus bores into the sapwood. The tree tries to wall the fungus off, but it spreads faster than the tree can contain it. The water-conducting wood plugs, and the canopy wilts.
Host first
Only the laurel family gets it. If the tree is an oak or a maple, it is something else. Naming the host is the first step in the diagnosis.
Do not move the wood
Firewood, trimmings, mulch and smoking wood from host trees can carry the beetle to new trees. Chipping lowers beetle survival, and the fungus does not survive in chips.
What we do
How Ptolemy handles it
Field condition first, then the recommendation. Treatment, removal and diagnosis calls are made by an ISA Certified Arborist, and the serious ones are confirmed in a lab.
- Confirm the host and look for sapwood streaking before any call.
- Report suspect trees to the state (FDACS Division of Plant Industry).
- Remove and destroy dead and infected trees. Chip on site, and never move host wood as firewood or mulch.
- For a high-value avocado or specimen tree that is not yet infected, a preventive fungicide infusion at the root flare is the documented option, repeated on a cycle, on our certified arborist’s call.
- No product reverses the disease in a tree that is already infected.
Next step
Seeing laurel wilt on your property?
FAQ
Questions about laurel wilt
Can laurel wilt hit our oaks?
No. It attacks trees in the laurel family: redbay, swampbay, avocado, sassafras and camphor. Oak decline here has other causes.
Can an infected tree be treated?
No. Once the canopy wilts, no fungicide brings it back. Preventive infusion protects high-value trees that are not yet infected.
What do we do with the wood?
Keep it on site and chip it, or dispose of it properly. Never move it as firewood, trimmings or mulch.
Built on
Our own field records, our written specs, and these public references:
- UF/IFAS EDIS HS1358, Laurel Wilt: Detection and Mitigation in the Home Landscape
- UF/IFAS FR475, The Redbay Ambrosia Beetle and Laurel Wilt
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