Winnipeg to cull infected chokecherry trees

The City of Winnipeg is taking an aggressive approach to stop a destructive tree fungus from spreading in newer neighbourhoods.

The city says 800 Schubert Chokecherry trees will be removed due to black knot mold disease this year.

That's up from an average of 150 to 200 trees in recent years. The variety was heavily planted in areas of Winnipeg that grew during the 80s and 90s. The city says the current practice is to plant a diverse mix of new trees in areas to prevent entire species from being wiped out.

Several trees near Shawna Lussier's home in River Park South have been marked for removal. "It's kind of sad that they have to replace all the trees," said Lussier. "Because a lot of our properties also have non-city trees on them that are the same and they have the fungus as well."

Trees near Tracey Pettie's River Park South home also have been marked for removal. "I was a little bit saddened, just because I think they're beautiful trees, especially in the spring when they start to bloom," said Pettie.