I just planted the tree in the ground Monday, with some cow manure and really good potting soil. Why is my silver maple dying? In very early spring I noticed red-brown sap on some branches which have now died off. I assume by blossoms you mean the small red flowers that develop into seeds. We see leaves all over the tree including way up on top. If your tree is in low light and high moisture, that could be inviting for moss to appear. After frost damage trees will usually produce a second crop of leaves, if it is that. The dripping sounds like aphids, which would probably also weaken it and cause that early dropping of the keys they are a relatively minor problem, unless very heavy for several years in a row. There is a chance that you can trigger a spurt of growth that will isolate the disease inside the tree, and create new, healthy conducting tissue, which is what the fungus is blocking. Too much sun: The curling begins at the tips. An arborist said it wasnt dying. I do see there are some light discolourations on some branches, only generally an inch long and maybe a quarter inch round, or thereabouts. Most know the attractive leaves of Vermont's state tree, the sugar maple (Acer saccharum). Environmental factors. This holds down weeds, but more importantly, slows evaporation loss from the soil. He said to deep water it for a couple of weeks and I have, every three days, along with the normal daily lawn watering. Having lichen in your neighborhood means you have clean air, since they don't grow in polluted environments. Look under the leaves, in the curled pockets. I have a 30 X 30 Japanesse Red Maple (25 yrs. I have a question I hope you can help with. Perhaps a mix up at the garden center? Small, curled up, brownish, some black spots and the bark appears to be coming off in strips. Maybe you are more sheltered, so the night temperatures have been a touch warmer are you in a hollow? Odd growth patterns may indicate general weakness or structural imbalance, Schaefer explains. If left untreated, the tree may eventually die. the start of a fungus or can it just be because there was to much water and it will get better? If it is darkish green or black this is the classic method to diagnose Verticillium Wilt which is fatal. This sometimes causes a flush of new growth in the trunk, which cuts off the disease further inside the tree, where it cant do any harm. Has there been any digging around the roots, or trenching, or changes of level that involved cutting roots, in the last 5 years or so? These usually show up as different kinds of spots on the leaves. This disease often enters through damaged roots. Mulching. It doesnt sound good! In time, decay will extend further within the tree leading to structural problems, Schaefer says. In the country, trees can be completely defoliated by insects, and putting on a new flush of leaves uses up valuable energy resources. Sounds like a Sango-kaku Japanese Maple, right? Adding 12 inches of top soil over the root-zone of an old, established tree will almost always cause long-term decline and early death. Let me know if you have any advice. The patches on the bark probably cover dead areas beneath you could remove one or two and check. It could be a lighting strike, which will usually heal over time, and isnt a cause for much concern. To begin with, are you sure this is Sensation? Sounds like Tar Spot, described in the article. It is very common on Norway and red maples, due to their thin bark. it seems a hazzard to our house and theirs. it was sold to a developer. I have a very large maple tree in the back of my property that has been dropping leaves for over a month. That tree is quite old. The horticulturist did come to check the tree the first time it cracked after a brutal winter and said it was from winter freeze. I planted 6 autumn blaze maples on my property last year.. You can tell by scrapping the bark green or white underneath means alive, brown means dead. Hi, our tree was fine last bloom leaves normal. Thanks for any help. Any information you can provide would be helpful. (thank you!). It is best to remove those shoots when they are still young, as they will eventually take over completely, as the yellow parts are always weaker. Does it look like the linked picture? Lichens are commonly found on trees and are frequently misinterpreted as being a sign of decay within the tree. Some of the old root for the Bradford is still buried in there, and occasionally I have chopped off its attempt to grow again, I think. Can a dead maple tree be saved? This spring it was very late sprouting its buds and the leaves are now sparse and smaller on the lower half of the tree. I bought them when they were relatively small, but they were fine for the first 3 years or so. This spring they budded and leafed out just fine and looked great. Its outer layers need to expand as the core grows more and more. Last summer was very hot and dry. I might suggest having the tree fertilized with a deep root feeding many arborists offer this. With their iconic leaves and spectacular fall colors, these hardy trees will grow in many climate zones and many different conditions. Nothing to worry about. The portion of the tree which seems to be mostly affected by the damaged branches and leaves would be on the north facing side, all the way up from the lowest branches to to the top. Canopy Decline On Trees In Different Stages If Your Tree Is Dying From The Top Down And You Want To Know Why You've Come To The Right Place. Otherwise, you will probably see a steady decline, with that branch you mention suddenly dying completely. they agreed to not let heavy equipment pass over the root system. Once Verticillium is inside a tree it is hard to deal with, although the root feeding method has been shown to often work. The trunk now has a wide black streak running down the length of it. Is it green underneath or brown? Taking a long time to die is typical, and suggests a weak form of the fungus, so the odds are better that you will be able to lock it inside successfully. Nothing to worry about. Insist they use high-nitrogen, not a general balance feed, and have it done as soon as the buds begin to swell. Had a large (~5 trunk) Autumn Blaze Maple planted last fall. Unfortunately not something we have in stock right now check back or try to find it locally accept no substitutes. A lot of the branches have been dying as you can tell from the pic. Environmental stress. Now the weather has suddenly turned from a cool wet spring (for this climate anyway) to blasting summer heat. There do not appear to be any aphids or any other insects on the tree. Since roots run deep underground, determining damage isnt always easily visible. Matt and crew cleaned up the low hanging branches on my huge big leaf maple with a lift bucket truck. Could this be scorch (due to the weather) or is it possibly something else? What is this and do I need to get the tree treated? This is best done when the tree is young. They come and go depending on the season, but the damage is purely cosmetic. Everything else was in line for lawn turf. Our maple tree looks it it has little trenches being dug into the trunk and branches. If you have a severe outbreak, make sure you rake up the leaves and destroy them, as these diseases go through the winter on old leaves and then re-infect the trees next summer. If there is a lot of mulch at the base of your tree, the tree may suffocate and start dying. Sounds like those branches will re-sprout next spring. OR any advice PLEASE ! Although you saying on the edges makes me wonder if it could be something else. The base of the tree is mulched, and it is on a slight slope in the yard so gets good drainage. Unless this is a large quantity of branches, it sounds normal. Tighten the nut or nuts until the crack closes up. Yard was established last August (2020). This has infected the entire tree all the way to its estimated height of 150 feet. But its on Condo grounds and they wont want to spend the money to remove it unless they are certain it is doomed. I have a 12 year old green maple tree. Zones 4-9 from there it spreads all over the leave, main veins first afterwards the green between the veins. If it had green leaves when you bought it, could be it had been sitting in deep shade for a time, or just leafed out after being held in cold storage. Clean up the leaves and bag or burn them in the fall. When I moved in about 7 years ago I had some limbs trimmed to branches couldnt fall in my house. The soil is pure clay, and was brought in by the builder, as this is new construction, and the yard needed fill. We have a 50+ ft sugar maple that had leaves turn and drop very early last year, August. These are insect pests, not diseases, which is why we didnt cover them, but you do raise a good point, because they can easily be thought a disease, since they sure dont look like insects to new gardeners! I found insects on the leaves of the tree last week and wonder if they are killing the branches. Toward the end of summer the leaves on some of the branches dried up and turned brown, there is also black areas on a few of the branches. RELATED: Don't Make These 8 Mistakes In Your Front Yard. Unfortunately that has no cure, but it usually isnt fatal for a long time. Id love to attach a picture so you can see it. I have a Maple that is over 10 year & this year the bark is split at the bottom & runs up about 5 foot. I suggest you ring around local tree companies and see if someone will come and give a diagnosis and quote you can give to the condo. The water issue is probably more likely to be the source bad drainage leads to root death, which in turn can let fungi into the vascular system. In either case, both of these are pretty harmless in the long-term, and vary from season to season, depending on the weather. You may need to repeat the test over several areas of the tree to determine if the whole tree is dead or just a few branches. Thank you. Hello again. It can take a few weeks for new buds to form, and for branches to leaf out. Often the shady side of a tree trunk is different from the sunny side. Cut off the branch and dispose of it. Then remove the dead limb as much as you can, but without cutting into any healthy areas. The south side seems to have good green foliage for the most part. I live in Kansas and have a nurture autumn blaze maple. based on 28638 ratings and reviews, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasates_quadripedes. A tree of that age is not going to die from losing a few leaves or even losing a lot. Bright Red leaves just opened & looking beautiful. It is such a mess. Out of stock The only treatment that seems to be effective is deep root feeding with a high nitrogen fertilizer, applied in late spring, before the sap starts to run. Other times a tree may live for a long time, slowly becoming weaker and less attractive, but never dying completely. Any ideas? Thanks for the info. When we returned 7 days later (was hot while gone) the leaves were all wilted and falling. The spots are probably unrelated, and something minor. Squirrels are stopping to sniff it as well. We have had a very wet spring/summer so far, so lack of moisture is not the problem. If you Google it you will see many photos to confirm that. You mentioned in another post about some maples reversing, we were never told by the nursery of this, so is our tree giving us another surprise with the coloring, or do we have a worse problem with the wetwood combined with the leaf wilt? It did fine last year. I have often seen Verticillium on sugar maple where a whole section dies suddenly, leaving the rest looking perfectly healthy but it often then dies a year or two later. Are other red maples in your neighborhood affected too?