Monrovia Ships Infested Plants

It was just reported in my local paper that a huge California nursery has shipped plants contaminated with Sudden Oak Death spores.

I don't think they know yet the extent of the problem; but, if you have purchased Monrovia Plants this spring, you may want to contact the nursery where you purchased them.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/11/BAGL55IF011.DTL

Ornamental plants in the largest nursery in California -- a place that distributes flora around the country -- have been infested with spores from the tree-killing disease known as sudden oak death, it was revealed Wednesday.

The discovery of Phytophthora ramorum in camellias at Monrovia Growers in Azusa (Los Angeles County) means that the highly contagious disease has been transported to other states and may have been introduced into highly susceptible oak forests in places like the southeastern United States.

Eek! I almost bought a Monrovia camellia from Pike's at the Southeastern Flowershow last month. Now I'm glad it was too expensive! lol

That is just awful. As someone who lives in the "Oak Belt", I would hate to see something as deadly as this get started in our area.

All our big old trees Nat! It would make me cry!

Angie, My neighbors had a huge oak tree that was about 90 years old that they had cut down recently as they are building on to their house. It was absolutely heartbreaking to see them take down that tree. I cannot even imagine what it would feel like if we were to start losing all of our majestic oak trees.

I just think it's ironic that the disease is coming FROM California, a state that spends a tremendous amount of time and effort keeping diseases OUT (understandable, with so many agricultural products being important to their economy, and year-round warm climate that makes it difficult to eradicate a lot of pests.)

I just hope that all nursery owners are being given information on the proper precautions - even if infected plants haven't been sold, can the spore spread from those sitting outdoors? (I passed by a display of Camellias yesterday at Home Depot - my guess is they might well have come from Monrovia, since a lot of their stock does...)

O man, this is not good news ... Not only is it likely that we will lose lots of our ancient oaks as a result of this, but we can prolly look forward to greater shipping restrictions, and higher prices for plants.

Not good, not good at all.

Cheri'

This is certainly distressing news, but not an isolated incident. We lived in Marin County, CA when the oak trees and tanoaks first began mysteriously dying in Mill Valley. It was terrible to watch the rapid progression of the disease.

This disease is not only found in California, but also in Oregon, the UK, the Netherlands, and I believe in Germany. Hopefully some of the eradication programs and research can end it before forests worldwide are lost.

The list of affected plants gets longer and longer each year and public education is going to have to be part of a long term solution.

It's difficult to find just one good link to learn more about the disease, but here is one. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/ispm/sod/

Additional information comes up by the bucketful if you Google Phytophthora ramorum:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Phytophthora+ramorum&sa=N&tab=iw

I lived in the mid-west years ago when Dutch Elm disease began to take its toll. Changed the landscape forever.

The California Oak Mortality Task Force site is one I found today while researching. It has a lot of good information.

http://www.suddenoakdeath.org

Here's an interesting link about the oprigins of this disease from Dr. Alex Shigo, who is a noted authority in the field of modern arboricultures: http://www.chesco.com/%7Etreeman/SHIGO/COP.html

ecobioangie and others.
You shouldn't worry too much.
The station in Azusa ships mostly just on the west coast.
Georgia Monrovia is located in Cairo, thus that is where you probably got your stock from.

Just another reason to buy from small time, mom-pop nurseries.

Thanks Drew. :)

I just got this email:

ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Agriculture has issued a quarantine against all nursery plants from California due to a serious fungal disease found in at least one nursery that ships plants into Georgia and due to the possibility of the disease in other California nurseries that may ship into the state.

Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin issued the quarantine today following notification that the Sudden Oak Death fungus (Phytophthora ramorum) had been discovered on camellias at Monrovia Nursery, Azusa, California, a major supplier of many kinds of plants to garden centers across the country. The disease has also been discovered in Specialty
Plants, Inc., San Marcos, California. Department of Agriculture
personnel are working to determine if that nursery shipped any plants to Georgia.

"There are 11 other California nurseries where high risk samples have been taken," Commissioner Irvin said. "The California Department of Food and Agriculture has said they are 90 percent sure the samples are positive for the disease, but they will not quarantine the nurseries and have said
they will not release the names of the nurseries until the samples are confirmed positive - probably sometime next week. We will be closing the borders to all California nurseries before close of business today if they do not release the names of the 11 nurseries," said Commissioner Irvin.

"Sudden Oak Death is an extremely serious disease. It not only affects oaks but other plants as well including azaleas, rhododendrons, maples, beeches and buckeyes. This has the potential to be more devastating than Chestnut Blight, which wiped out virtually all stands of the native American chestnut
in the 1930s. The cost to lumber companies, homeowners, gardeners, and cities would be overwhelming and the damage to wildlife and our landscape would be heartbreaking," said Irvin.

I'm scared now.....

Maybe check to see what your Dept of Agriculture is doing. Ours is super protective and I love it.

thats it...
lets build a wall around California.

It will probably come along on their produce, too?
Everything we eat in the winter comes from Cal.
Bernie

Eeeeeew! I don't want to eat fungus spores! Well, you know, mushrooms, but otherwise...EEEEEEEEW!!!

Trying to think of how to add to this thread without offending anyone.

First, I think there is an intrinsic problem in large scale shipping of potted plants outside of the area they were grown. I don't know how companies like Monrovia, Costco, and Home Depot get away with it; but, I hope this wakes more of the states up to the problem. I mean, dirt is dirt is dirty, after all. Who knows what is hiding in it?

Second, the state and federal agencies which are supposed to be monitoring this and many other sorts of things are grossly over burdened with regulation and massively under funded and staffed.

Third, CA has been on the receiving end of more pests than I can count, including the glassy wing sharpshooter from the Southeast, which in combination with Pierce's Disease, stands a good chance of decimating our grape crops. I, personally, would like to strangle whoever thought Oxalis pes-caprae made an attractive groundcover.

In any case, I hope this doesn't sound too surly.

Erik

Not at all Erik. You have the right to feel a little defensive, but I don't think it is California's fault. It's the offending nurseries.

How did the disease get to the nursery in Azusa? That is 200 miles away from the nearest confirmed SOD location in the wild. http://kellylab.berkeley.edu/OakMapper/viewer.htm

(BTW, SOD is a soil-borne disease and should not be present on clean produce.)

More info in today's paper:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/03/24/BUG855Q18B1.DTL

"The timing could not have been any worse, earlier this month, when researchers examining camellias in a Southern California commercial nursery found a fungus-like pathogen that causes sudden oak death.

Five states, as well as Canada, almost immediately halted the import from California of those plants that can be hosts for the microscopic disease -- they include species of rhododendron, camellia, viburnum and lilac -- while Florida is refusing to accept all California nursery stock until the extent of the spread of the fungus is known."

Oh my! About a month ago, I received a gorgeous Camellia japonica 'Debutante' from a California nursery and it is in a Monrovia container. The tree is gorgeous and healthy and shows NO sign of disease or anything amiss, but this makes me want to go put a bag over it! Should I worry?

Why don't you take a cutting to your parish's co-operative extension for them to verify? Then you could put your mind at ease.

Didn't know I could do that. Good idea. Thank you!

I think I would also contact the nursery you got it from. It sounds like not all stock was contaminated. They may have more information about the specific lot or group of plants yours was shipped with.

yuck, so what does this have to do with us "little guys" way down here? Everything...yesterday I phoned Ball Seed to call in my plug order. Nope, can't do it the lady on the other end replied. They are in California and we are in Louisiana. She had a notice that came across her desk yesterday morning halting all shipments to our state. This is just awful. She also said there was some concern that the virus could spread to the potato crop. She mentioned that the Dept. of Ag. was very concerned. But also said the whole thing might be just a little over-rated. I don't know, anything that could harm our stately Live Oaks, sure makes me sad. We have such beautiful ones here.

Here's some additional information on the action the feds are taking:
http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20040326_1844.html

I have a Brug at K State to be tested,I called to see if they had anything on it,they told me it would be,at least, 2 more weeks,they are swamped with this Oak disease,and it is top priority.

Well, up here in Canada on the West Coast, there are notices posted all through the Lower Mainland Nurseries and gdn centres...this is serious...forestry is #1 up here! and to think it all began with six Camellia Plants in CA. E.

All this points to old "BUY LOCALLY!"
Minnesota wants all people who bought suspect plants to call State Dept of Ag. Even if didn't come from Cal.
Local paper today has notice from Federal Goverment that states they are banning shipment of 59 plant varieties from Cal. Starting Monday all those plants will be inspected before they are shipped.
Bernie

I do buy locally. Only THEY don't buy locally. In a large city there are very few propagators of plants so they have to get them where they can. I live in Atlanta and there are just no farms anywhere near us that can supply the demand. We're suffering.

pins, that is very true! Most greenhouses around here grow lots of bedding plants but most of their trees and gallon containers are all shipped in.

pins, there are 100 large wholesale shrub nurseries 100-300miles south of you.
South Georgia is flooded with shurb farms that sell to the atlanta area.

dp

I never knew that! How can I find out which nurseries carry them? I'm willing to drive 30 minutes or so to find good nurseries. Around here all we have is Pikes (excusively Monrovia), Lowe's and Home Depot. Thanks for letting me know about them. I'd always rather support our own economy, plus I'll bet they are more adaptable to our climate.

well of course, it is easier for a group like Pikes to mass purchase from some 600 acre shrub farm when the plants are $.25 less....

there are groups like J&L Growers in Moultrie that grows trees and shrubs and sells them to atlanta area nurserymen.

I'd call your local nurseries and ask where their plants come from. If it isn't local... let them know you arn't interested in their plant material.

dp

Update on the Sudden Oak Death situation from the San Francisco Chronicle:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/29/BUGBE6CHFN1.DTL&type=business

------

Oak fungus spreads
California nursery shipped infected plants to 5 states

A Southern California nursery has shipped plants carrying sudden oak death to retail stores in at least five states, heightening concerns about the potential spread of the tree-killing pathogen.

Florida, Georgia, Maryland and Washington have all identified plants carrying the virus, according to the nursery, Monrovia Growers in Azusa (Los Angeles County).