Business Meetings of the Shelter Cove Homeowners Association Board of Directors will be held at 5:00 P. M. Every First Tuesday of each month. Meeting will be held at the Cascade Title Co. conference room at 715 Highway 101, across from Safeway. All Association members are welcome to attend.

Some of our pine trees are infected with gall rust.  This article is intended to help you inspect the trees in your yard.

Western gall rust

Western gall rust is caused by one of two species of fungi, either c. quercuum or cronartium harkenssii. It causes spherical swelling on the trunk of pine trees which often stunt or discolor growth beyond the gall, or swelling

Pine tree branches which are infected with western gall rust will develop spherical swellings which are rough to the touch. These are often found on the main trunk of the tree as well as on the branches. The galls first appear in the spring and are a yellow or orange color (color may very). On pine trees with gall rust, the growth of the pine tree beyond the gall will more often than not be stunted, discolored or distorted in appearance.

Western gall rust completes its life cycle with only one pine. Once it infects the individual pine tree, the spores of the rust can easily contaminate and begin to infect other nearby trees. Typically, in early spring the yellow and orange galls appear and moisture spreads spores when the temperatures become optimal. The spores then infect pine tree tissue, which in turn causes an increase and swelling of the number of plant cells. Following this, in six months to a year a growth will form. The galls then grow and produce spores within the next two years

The stunted growth in pines is caused by the gall rust infection which disturbs sap production causing distortions and bizarre growth patterns

Treatment:  Pruning out galled branches and trees may be effective. Chemical control is usually neither necessary nor practical.  Infected pine branches and/or whole trees should be removed before spring because the rust galls re-lease infectious yellow orange spores each spring.

Richard Lewis