Common Boxelder trees in our area:

 

 

Boxelder:

123

  • Broadleaf deciduous tree, 30-50 ft (9-15 m) high, broad, rounded, often multi-stemmed.   Leaves opposite, compound (ash-like, pinnate), usually 3-5 leaflets which are obovate to elliptical, terminal leaflet has a long stalk (petiolule), margins entire or serrate, leaf surfaces may be tomentose (pubescent) at first, bright green above and lighter green below; in fall, yellow-green and brown.  Dioecious - male and female plants; female flowers yellowish green, hang in slender, pendulous clusters (racemes), 6 in long; each male flowers is on a long, thin stalk, these are grouped in clusters (corymbs), mostly yellow, but some may be pink.  Fruit is in long, narrow clusters, the pair of wings of each fruit forms an angle of less than 60o; fruit often persist into winter.
  • Sun.  Native to steams banks, lakes, and swamps.  Performs well out of its native habitat.  Usually short-lived.  Male trees preferred because of the absence of fruit (seeds).

 

  • Hardy to USDA Zone 2 (very hardy)    Native to nearly the entire eastern U.S., southern Canada and into Mexico.
  • Several cultivars are available:
    • ‘Flamingo’  -  variegated leaves (light green, with white and pink), a male clone (seedless).
    • ‘Kelly's Gold’ -  new growth is bright yellow, may become yellow green in summer, a male clone (seedless).
    • ‘Sensation’ -  reddish foliage in fall, a male clone (seedless).
    • ‘Variegatum’  -  common selection, variegated leaves (white margins), a female clone.
  • negundo: apparently from the native name of Vitex negundo (Chastetree), because of a supposed similarity of the leaves.

 

 

 

 

Common problems with Boxelder trees:

 

 

Insects:

 

Aphids Boxelder Bugs Asian Longhorned Beetle  
 


Aphids feed by sucking up plant juices through a food channel in their beaks. At the same time, they inject saliva into the host. Light infestations are usually not harmful to plants, but higher infestations may result in leaf curl, wilting, stunting of shoot growth, and delay in production of flowers and fruit, as well as a general decline in plant vigor. Some aphids are also important vectors of plant diseases, transmitting pathogens in the feeding process.

A sticky glaze of honeydew may collect on lower leaves, outdoor furniture, cars, and other objects below aphid feeding sites. Honeydew coated objects soon become covered by one or more brown fungi known as sooty molds. Crusts of sooty mold are unsightly on man-made objects, and they can interfere with photosynthesis in leaves.

MORE INFO

Boxelder bugs are primarily a nuisance because they enter homes and other buildings, often in large numbers. Fortunately, they do not bite people and are essentially harmless to property. When abundant, they can stain walls, curtains, and other surfaces with their excrement. Occasionally some may seek moisture and may be found around houseplants, although they rarely attack them. In the few cases when they do feed, boxelder bugs are very unlikely to injure indoor plants.

 

MORE INFO

The Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) is an exotic pest threatening a wide variety of hardwood trees in North America. Adults are large (0.75 - 1.50 inches long) with very long black and white banded antennae.  The body is glossy black with irregular white spots.  Adults can be seen from late spring to fall depending on the climate.

ALB attacks and kills many hardwood trees, such as maple, elm, horsechestnut, ash, birch, poplar, willow and many more.  ALB could significantly disrupt the forest ecosystem if it became established over a large area.

 

MORE INFO

 

 
TREATMENT  TREATMENT TREATMENT TREATMENT

 

 

Diseases:

 

Wetwood (slime flux)    
 

 

Bacterial wetwood, also called slime flux, is a major bole rot of trunk and branches of trees. Slime flux has been attributed to bacterial infection in the inner sapwood and outer heartwood area of the tree.

A tree with slime flux is water-soaked and "weeps" from visible wounds and even from healthy looking bark. The "weeping" may be a good thing as it is having a slow, natural draining effect on a bacterium that needs a dark, damp environment. A tree with this bole rot is trying its best to compartmentalize the damage.

 

MORE INFO

 

 

    
TREATMENT TREATMENT TREATMENT TREATMENT