Besides regular tree pruning and trimming, watching for the signs of disease is an important part of successful tree care. If you’re wondering if you should contact a tree arborist in Melbourne about a diseased tree on your property, then continue reading to learn how bot canker can affect ornamental trees. Introduction Bot canker, or Botryosphaeria dothidea, is an opportunistic fungus that is a serious pathogen among ornamental trees. This disease most frequently affects damaged and weakened trees, and environmental factors such as freeze injury, heat, drought, and soil compaction are examples of stressors that can make your trees more vulnerable to bot canker. This fungus commonly affects redbud, willow, elm, oak, hickory, holly, dogwood, cherry, apple, sweetgum, and Leyland cypress trees. Identification The lesions caused by a bot canker infection can vary in size according to the tree species and its condition at the time of infection. The lesions are typically surroun...