Q. My five-year-old Frost Peach tree, which produced a nice crop of peaches last year, has died. After it blossomed and started to leaf out this spring, all of the blossoms and leaves withered away, leaving it barren. Seeing no evidence of new growth, I recently cut it down, discarding all but a couple chunks of trunk. Now I notice a fine orange-colored ‘sawdust’ has fallen in distinct little piles onto the garage floor where I placed those pieces. Seems that some bug, which I haven’t seen, is chewing away at the wood. Is this likely what killed the tree, or might it just have been the aftermath? Was there something I could have done to avoid whatever the problem might have been? Pat Lowery – Milton, WA
A. Yes I think what you have seen is likely what killed your tree. There are two borers that attack peaches in our area. There are peachtree borers and peach twig borer. But since you indicated you retained pieces of your trunk I suspect it was likely the former. The borers are the larvae of a clearwinged moth. The larvae enter the tree near its base. Then they feed on the cambium below the surface of the bark. This cambium is what produces the xylem and phloem (the tree’s water and nutrient conducting system). In the winter they work their way down the trunk below the soil line and then in spring work back up. Smaller trees are often killed when the borer girdles the tree. Girdling is anything that makes a complete circle around the trunk and cuts off the water and nutrient conducting system. So this spring the borer most likely girdled the tree. The borer completes its lifecycle sometime between June and September and emerges as a moth. What you saw was likely the exit of the borer from the piece of trunk you kept. For those readers with peach trees you should keep a watch at the base of the tree for borer entrance. You should pull back some soil so you can see the trunk just below the soil surface as well. Then if you see entry hole use a strong wire to de-worm the tree. Insert the wire to either dig out or impale the borer. Alternately large orchards will construct a metal cone out of something like flashing which is set large side down a few inches above the trunk line and then into the soil a few inches to prevent the entrance of the borer.