Sudden Oak death

**S* H* <s*@saxonholt.com>**

Since I live and garden literally at ground zero (Marin County, CA) of this
infestation and have lost one tree to this disease, I follow this story
quite carefully.  It is not news here, so when a journalist somewhere else
first hears about it it seems like it is histrionics.  I am sorry to tell
you, Graham, that this is a real and spreading problem.  The discovery of
the Phytophthora ramorum on the camellias at Monrovia is a potential
disaster that must be reported or problem will not get attention.  The
source of the pathogen at Monrovia is not likely due to shoddy propagation
but from the air and host plants nearby.

The article you cite did have a brief comment from Monrovia and my local
newspaper has a bit more
http://www.marinij.com/Stories/0,1413,234%257E24407%257E2010597,00.html

More factual, less sensational info can be found at
http://www.suddenoakdeath.org

This story cries out for a garden writer to pick it up an do an in-depth
report.  My own attempts to alert various editors has yielded only a brief
mention in one periodical.  Our press does not want such serious reporting
and, as an aside, may very well be a reason garden magazines are in decline.

I must admit that it may turn out to be a bit of sensationalism if the
pathogen turns out to live on other hosts without harming them.  As the
local newspaper story cites, the disease has been found in hundreds of
European nurseries and some suspect it is the origin of Sudden Oak Death
here in California.  For whatever reason certain species of Oak here die
from it while others are so far, unaffected.  The pathogen lives in many
plants notably Umbullaria, Camellia, and Rhododendron without serious harm
(yet).

Whatever the final outcome, attempts to control the spread of the
Phytophthora seem futile in my opinion.  Local experts were (are still?)
saying hikers in the local woodlands should wash their shoes and clean their
bike tires when when leaving infested parklands....  Now the camellias at
Monrovia's main CA nursery have been infected and shipped all over.  It is
too late to stop it, we must hope it doesn't affect plants in other regions.

My own hope is that it is indeed only a regional problem and plants will
somehow miraculously adapt.  Certainly my own garden is affected and I may
never be able to grow the wonderful Tanks (Lithocarpus) and I am removing
every Bay (Umbellularia) I can.  (The Bay trees seem to be the worst host.)
But if it is not a regional problem and scientists can find a way to control
it, then a bit of sensational repotting will help get people stirred up.

No better person to get stirred up than my friend Graham Rice...

Saxon Holt

> From: Graham Rice <garden@tiscali.co.uk>
> Subject: [GWL] SOD on camellias traced to Monrovia Nursery

> Sudden Oak Death has been found on camellias at Monrovia's nursery in
> California.
> 
> The story is here.
> 
> http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004
> /03/11/BAGL55IF011.DTL
> 
> Unfortunately this is a pretty shoddy piece of reporting... making
> assumptions for which evidence is not provided as early as the
> seccond paragraph and including histrionics for which no evidence is
> presented. And although various people are quoted as saying how
> terrible this is - which may very well be true - Monrovia are not
> even given a "cannot comment at this time" quote... so presumably
> were never questioned or their responses simply left out
> 
> If anyone follows this up, please be sure to talk to Monrovia about
> it. For example: How long had these cammelias been on the nursery?
> Were these plants propagated on the nursery? Or had they been bought
> in from elsewhere and only been on site since the day before? If
> Monrovia are at fault, fair enough... let's see the evidence and let
> them take the flak. If not, let's see the full picture.

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