‘Sudden death' hits Maryland garden

Agency finds plant pathogen in items ordered from nursery

Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service sent out an advisory this week warning people about nursery plants from an Oregon distributor that are infected with Phytophthora ramorum, an organism that attacks more than 30 types of plants and causes a range of symptoms, including leaf spots, cankers, dieback and death in certain types of plants, according to an MDA press release. Some nursery plants serve as disease carriers that spread the organism into natural areas where it can kill trees, including oaks.

The infected plants were shipped from a nursery in a regulated area of Oregon, but MDA officials did not want to disclose the name of the nursery, said Julie Oberg, spokeswoman.

Instead, state agricultural officials are warning folks to not purchase plants from any nursery in California, Washington or Oregon.

So far, only plants purchased from the Oregon nursery are infected, Oberg said, adding local nurseries do not stock plants from the Oregon business.

Residents who purchased plants from the nursery were contacted by the MDA and were given test kits to check their plants for the organism, Oberg said Tuesday. So far, only one infected plant, witch hazel, was shipped to a homeowner in Montgomery County, she said.

State agricultural officials have received 22 samples and experts are expected to receive 15 more samples from the remaining test kits that were sent to home gardeners, according to the press release.

"The discovery of sudden oak death on nursery stock is not cause for panic," said Agriculture Secretary Buddy Hance in the release. "MDA plant inspectors have been in contact with those who received these plants to inspect and test suspect material from the Oregon nursery. We encourage everyone to report suspicious plants, especially if they were purchased from the West Coast."

The state department of agriculture along with the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Service is offering free test kits to home gardeners who suspect that they have purchased infected plants, MDA officials said in the release.

It is important for homeowners to test nursery plants that were purchased from the Oregon nursery as soon as possible, said Carol Holko, program manager of MDA's Plant Protection and Weed Management office.

The best way to stop the spread of the organism is to buy locally grown nursery plants, Oberg said.

nmcconaty@somdnews.com