The spots are probably unrelated, and something minor. About a week after noticing that, we now have wilting of new leaf growth at the ends of many of the branches, spreading in toward the center of the branches they are yellow in color (the Sensation surprises us every year, the leaf color is different every year, and fall colors are also very different) we cannot find any insects on the leaves or trunk. I have never had a problem with them. Curling of leaves. Is there a dead patch at the base, or up the side? Thank you so much for your comments and giving me something to think about/bring up with the horticulturist. An arborist can remove some of the soil around the tree's roots to see if this is your problem. They almost dont look fully formed. If they are sugar maples, my guess would be verticillium wilt, which often causes upper branches to die first. Deep splits in the bark, and a bark that is falling off is also a sign of a tree that is possibly dying. Sorry I cant give a blanket yes or no to your question. If it is, nothing to worry about. What is usually a beautiful tree looks like a Charlie brown christmas tree with dozens of leaves instead of thousands. This and last summer I noticed their leaves were unusually small. Generally, natural predators build up and adequately control these minor pests without any intervention on your part. Ideally the leaves in fall should all be collected and destroyed not composted. That is the most common route of entry for the disease cut roots. This is easily done during the winter while the tree is dormant. The dead areas are often limited by the veins. Oct 16, 2005. Based on the photo you provided, the insect appears to be either cottony maple scale or woolly aphid. Thats a lovely tree, and I am sure they will be fine. Sorry, news here so I hope Im responding in the correct way?!? The tree has been growing quite well; it has been in the ground for about four years. I dont see any aphids on the tree, and there are no spots on the leaves. If it does, then this could be honey fungus (Armillaria), which is usually fatal over a few years. If you want to replace it, choose something that isnt maple, perhaps an oak. I feed all my trees a fertilizer in the Spring and July and water them thoroughly when we do not get rain. . Trees susceptible to iron chlorosis Not all plants are susceptible to iron chlorosis. Stem girdling roots choke off the flow of water and nutrients between the roots and branches, and they prevent food produced in the leaves from reaching the roots. In other words, it should come off without any problem. Looks like it has spread as more of the tree is affected. It is just that what you describe sounds like Ash tree flower gall, a common problem caused by a tiny mite. Rainy days. It is dripping sap from the limbs/leaves. You will know more when you clean it out. But the leaves also have what looks like bleach spots and the veining almost looks bleached on them and the leaves are brittle and feel almost leathery to the touch. This has become increasingly common in many areas in the last few years, due to a series of damper summer, suitable for the spread of this fungus. ), Could anyone explain why my maple trees seem to cull a number of green leaves each spring? Or, is it some kind of wilt? If the dead leaves are not extensive, try root injection with a high nitrogen fertilizer you will need an arborist to do this. Almost anything that causes a tree to expend energy to recover can weaken the tree, and if it happens repeatedly the tree goes into decline. Sign up to get all the latest gardening tips! There are undeveloped buds on the branches but no new activity. If they are powdery, and rub off, it could be powdery mildew, that can occur in hot, humid weather. It might just work, otherwise you will need to have the (dead) tree removed. Key production can vary from year to year, but I am afraid you can expect some sorry, I know what a pest they can be in the spring when they start sprouting, as well as being a nuisance to clean up. 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. That is a great shame. Mower/string trimmer damage is a major cause of long-term issues with trees. Check the water level regularly. Trees are valuable assets to a landscape. If you know of anyone in W. Oklahoma that can do the injection please let me know. Japanese Maple tree loves to be in moist soil, it requires abundant water to thrive. any guesses? Prune the tree to remove dead twigs, growth tips and branches. In spite of this, it is most often the adult stage that created holes in the bark. I have a silver leaf maple. I want to love this tree. This is the first year I have seen sap on this tree. $99.50 $109.50 The limbs on one side of the looks like they have been cut off, all you see is where the limbs would have been. Im concerned about the half/half coloring as this tree has never done this before (and we would not have bought it had we known it would), and concerned about the degree of damage the wetwood has done considering the wilting leaves. Have you had any unusual weather? Now I have many dead branches and leaves and keys are turning brown and dying at a fast rate. Without seeing it, the growth sounds like lichen that would usually be on the north side of the trunk. A large tree like that will need plenty of watering during the first few seasons, so that could be the reason it is loosing leaves they dry faster on the windward side. This disease normally causes no long-term harm, as it attacks after the growth period is pretty much over, and the buds are formed for the following year. They will also have dead leaves still clinging well into the winter instead of dropping to the ground. What are your thoughts? I suggest you take a sharp knife and remove a small, vertical sliver of bark down through that area to the wood below the bark is quite thin. There is one limb close to that area that didnt get any leaves but otherwise the tree is full and healthy looking. I expect this will stop as the branches grow out and mature. Get those old pizza sauce splatters off your microwave walls with this cute gadget. My 50 year old Norway maple is loosing the bark on the trunk and its a large area 30 x 10 wide. It started developing leaves this spring, but although its covered with green leaves, it has hundreds of shriveled up tiny brown leaves and scaly brown bumps on the branches that fall off when I touch them. Your Japanese maple tree is dying because it is not receiving the care it needs. Everything else was in line for lawn turf. A probe is pushed into the ground and fertilizer pumped down into the roots. Those sound like male flowers that have of course died by this time. Water the maple with liquid fertilizer and shade it for a few weeks. Those buried roots could be hosting a fungus that is then attacking the new tree, so I would have them all removed and the area cultivated as deeply as possible. I might suggest having the tree fertilized with a deep root feeding many arborists offer this. Is it in decline? Any help would be greatly appreciated. The alternative could be a lightning strike have you had thunderstorms? This disease is another fungus that enters through the roots and blocks the water passages inside the tree. Is there anything this avid gardener can do ? If that 2-inch wide strip is more than 1/3 of the trunk diameter then it may not be worth trying to save the tree but you can give it a go. Common causes of holes in trees include wood boring insects and birds. Start watering, and give it a long, slow soak once a week. Could it be something else? No dark spots visible on the leaf itself. Hang in a few more years and see how it develops. How do we treat a very large sugar maple (25 years old?) Your tree could be hit again, or may never be hit again. Try root feeding with tree fertilizer you will need to hire an arborist to do it, who might also be able to give you a better diagnosis when he or she sees the tree. Red maple is not a good choice for your area too dry and hot in summer. . What is this and do I need to get the tree treated? We have a 30+ year old Norway maple that sprouted most of its leaves in the spring but never matured to full size. . I do see there are some light discolourations on some branches, only generally an inch long and maybe a quarter inch round, or thereabouts. the tree is about 20 years old. Any ideas. France has lost most of its wine crop this year from the same thing. 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. The ground in the spring was extremely wet up until mid to late May near the tree. It's never looked better. Automotive; Garden; Project Ideas; Hand & Power Tools; Woodworking; Search. If there is foamy liquid coming from the crack it is probably slime flux, an incurable bacterial disease. Call an arborist and have them come and give the tree a deep root feeding tell them to use a high nitrogen fertilizer, and dont take no for an answer! Should we be pulling the bark off the tree to dry it out? If so, it will open as a crack, since the bark has been killed, and will in time probably heal over. The spores overwinter on infected leaves, and then re-infect new leaves the next year. . You have two choices: since the trees are still young, if you dont mind the cost of replacement, I would replace them because of the long-term effects, which can be future girdling of the trunk, killing the trees at a much older age. Dont plant anything there. If it dropping limbs isnt a danger to property, then it really isnt a hazard at all just a dead tree. Do you have any recommendations, or is it too late?" Let's dive into what may be causing these signs of maple tree stress and dieback. For deciduous trees, look for branches that lack lush green leaves and show only brown and brittle leaves during the growing season. These are old planks of wood. Yes, it was in wet ground after snow melt in the spring and we could not do our first lawn mowing until about 8th June. I have started to slow water the tree for a couple of hours each day since I noticed the leaves turning brown. Dont put any kind of paint or treatment on it. There may be one or several spots on each leaf and leaves with a lot of spots may turn yellow and fall prematurely. I have a 2 year old sunset maple whose leaves are curling and the new growth at the end of the branches are starting to change color or turn brown around the edges.