Can anyone please help with a problem I have with my acers, one has completly lost all it's foilage,I have done the nail test and still seems to be living.Another has lost most of its leaves and the rest arn't looking good, on the main trunk there is a lot of what looks like empty insect shells and a lot of white "gunk". Thanks, Big Mike
Hi Mike, the insect shells and white gunk sounds a lot like chestnut scale, this is the time of year when it is noticeable, does it look like the example in this link? http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0602/chestnut_scale.asp Unlikely to cause your tree to lose its leaves though. It is reputed to not do much damage but I still rub it off my trees by hand as much as possible. Sorry I can't be more help.
