Pyracantha scab
A scab fungus that turns pyracantha berries into corky black lumps and marks the leaves with sooty olive blotches before they fall. It is the reason a firethorn covered in flower produces a crop of blackened, worthless berries, and it is a close relative of the scab on apples and pears rather than anything the plant caught from them.
Caused by: Venturia inaequalis f. sp. pyracanthae · also called firethorn scab
What brings it on
Wet springs and still air. Spores overwinter on fallen leaves and infected shoots and are splashed onto the new growth and the opening flowers, which is when the berry crop is decided.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Pyracantha scab
Checked 2026-08-13
Usually seen: April, May, June, July, August, September
Preventing it
Ordered by how much difference each measure actually makes, not by how often it is repeated.
- Plant a resistant cultivar. The 'Saphyr' series and several others were bred for scab and fireblight resistance, and on a plant grown chiefly for its berries that choice matters more than anything done afterwards.
source
Sourced guidancehigh confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Pyracantha scab — resistant cultivars
Checked 2026-08-13
- Rake up and remove fallen leaves in autumn, which carries a share of the overwintering spores away with them.
source
Horticultural consensusmoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Pyracantha scab — control
Checked 2026-08-13
Dealing with it once it is there
- Prune out badly scabbed shoots when the plant is trimmed, and improve air movement around a wall-trained specimen. On an established hedge the honest answer is that it is a cosmetic loss and worth tolerating.
source
Sourced guidancemoderate confidence
- Royal Horticultural Society: Pyracantha scab — control
Checked 2026-08-13
What it affects
On sprays and treatments
GrowingHQ does not tell anyone what to apply, at what rate, or how often. Pesticide approvals differ by country, change without notice, and the product label is legally binding — it is also the document you are holding. What is described here is cultural and physical control, which is what a home grower can act on without a label in front of them.