Dogwood – Bleeding Orange Sap

Q: I have a dogwood that was injured with snow load and we cut off the broken branch. I put prunning sealer on the cut and now it looks like this. It looks like it is bleeding to death.

A: The wounded dogwood is bleeding clear sap but orange-colored yeasts and fungi are growing on the sap. As you know, sap consists of lots of sugary materials which are the dream food for yeasts. Some yeasts, like Cryptococcus macerans, can store energy in carotene-filled sacs in their cells. This would give them an orange appearance.

That’s what is happening to your tree. The bleeding will eventually stop. You can wash off the orange goo. I’d simply keep it happy and hope the tree can wall off the damaged part of the bark.

see  Tree slime, stump flux and microbial consortia

orange slime on dogwood