[Arid_gardener] Question from Home-Hort WWW page

[azrefugee at earthlink.net]

Linda Wilson
85257
azrefugee at earthlink.net

My previous landlord is charging me for the removal of 3 plants -- a lemon tree, a yucca, and some type of palm tree -- over the 2 years I lived at her rental.  They all turned brown from the top down over periods of several months.  They were all on an automatic drip system installed and configured by the landlord before I moved in.  The plants in the yard were also trimmed by the landlord's landscaper before I moved in.  The palm tree died in September 2005, 4 months after I moved in; the yucca took much longer to die.  A year later in June 2006, the landlord had the same landscaper trim the plants again, this time including the lemon tree.  Soon after, the lemon tree started to die, long before last winter's frosts.

I've heard Fusarium wilt has become a problem in California, particularly with palm trees.  I've also read Fusarium doesn't survive in Arizona's alkaline soils but can be passed from plant to plant by infected landscaping tools.  I've noticed similar symptoms throughout my area of Scottsdale, primarily with pines and palms, although I've noticed the same symptoms with a neighbor's olive tree.  I suspect my landlord's plants were infected with Fusarium, probably by contact with the landscaper's tools.

Is Fusarium currently a problem in the Phoenix area?