Hi everyone, I would so very much appreciate any responses/advice on how to treat the Japanese maple in my front yard. For the second year, only half of the tree has leaves. The trunk looks healthy -- it is in a Y shape -- and one half of the Y looks dead. No new leaves or growth -- and the branches snap easily. I have thought about cutting off the dead half so the other half can remain healthy -- but I'm just not sure. I don't want to hurt the tree as it is especially sentimental to me and my children. This Japanese maple was a gift from my parents when we moved into our home and we've had it for almost 16 years. The kids named the tree "Nana's tree" and we all would be devastated if something happened to it as my Dad had passed recently. Thank you for any advice. Peggy
New posts about blighted Japanese maples appear all the time. Two ones that are mentioned are bacterial blight and verticillium wilt. No point in keeping the dead branches on yours. How the remaining part will do is uncertain.
This article frolm the University of Connecticut lists copper sulfate as a treatment for bacterial blight : http://www.hort.uconn.edu/ipm/nursery/htms/bblworn.htm Since it's available everywhere, I woulod pesrsonally cut the dead branches, apply copper sulfate and use wound sealant on the cuts. at least, it worked for me on two infected maples two years ago...
