Poorly Apple Tree?

[djtaz11398]

My apple tree is covered in white fluff and looks very sorry for its self, any ideas?

[Toglet]

That sounds like "woolly aphid" infestation (if you squish it, does it leave a red smear?). It needs spraying with insecticide.

[banana]

Dont want to repeat what frazier says really but... we had a very old tree that the kids treated rugly and one day we noticed it covered with white 'cotton wool'.It began to drop branches until we chopped it down .It was rotten to the core.

[quattro]

It is wooly aphid as has been said and needs treating with pestiscide before it takes a hold as the aphids burrow into the bark to eat the sap this causes the tree to form cankers or warts around the hole and this then slows down the tree growth consideraby if this has already happened wait till the winter and cut back all the diseased wood and keep on spraying until they dissapear