We have a 10-year old Acer (variety unknown). One branch died suddenly a couple of weeks ago; the only oddity I could see was that there was some discolouration of the bark plus white spots near the base of that branch. The spots were powdery to rub and I could see nothing inside. We had been having an unusually dry spell for Ireland. I pruned out the branch and gave a bonemeal feed. Any ideas on how to help maintain the rest of the shrub, please? Trevor
Hi Trevor, it may have been a victim of verticillium wilt, a vascular disease which becomes pronounced in hot and dry weather. The powder may be a secondary mildew of no consequence. In future though, try not to medicate (throw bonemeal etc on) until you diagnose. :)
Hi Paul. Many thanks for your reply; sorry for the delay in acknowledging but I was away on a trip. Point noted re medication! Trevor
