Meteorological spring has arrived, and we are enjoying a few warming days, although winter isn’t over and may yet surprise us with a few snowflakes. Early March is when Jim and I begin examining the trees and shrubs for winter damage. Yesterday, I noticed some drooping stems and brown, inwardly turning leaves on a mature rhododendron, the largest of a group of three located beside Jim’s office. I examined the rhododendron carefully this morning and found that several branches and numerous leaves are affected on the oldest part of the shrub. Besides the leaf dieback, I also discovered broken, dark-brown bark at the junction of the lowest branch and the trunk. Mottled, dark brown wood, rather than creamy-white tissue was revealed when I scraped the bark with a sharp knife. The dieback, broken bark, and discolored wood are all symptoms of a common fungal disease of rhododendrons and most other shrubs and trees called Botryosphaeria canker. The disease is caused by one of several species o...