Japanese maple is mostly dead.. why?

Discussion in 'Maples' started by bijjy, May 13, 2013.

  1. bijjy

    bijjy Active Member

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    Location:
    Burnaby BC Canada
    Hi all! Long time no post. I was recently introduced to this Japanese maple that seems 90% dead. There are leaves on just a couple branches.

    The lady who owns it said the former gardener had told her it died from lack of watering. And that perhaps a droughty summer several years back killed it.

    Today I also noticed a chimney beside it, coming out of the neighbour's garage. No idea what comes out of the chimney.. a possible cause?

    The lady seems to want to keep the tree and give it a chance. The tree seems quite old, and I thought that J. Maples don't need waterings after the first 1-2 years.

    There is no obvious sign of pest or disease. Just a lil bit of lichen on the trunk.

    The tree lives in the south part of Vancouver and has full sun exposure.

    Thoughts on whether it will come back or not, and why it died in the first place?
     

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  2. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Species not drought adapted, native region is monsoonal. However, partial leaf retention suggests pathogenic problem, death of part or all of Japanese maple tops probably one of most often asked about garden tree and shrub issues. Verticillium wilt usual response given, but I think here bacterial blight is more frequent.

    Links to 10 different pages on 10 different maple problems seen in Oregon:

    http://pnwhandbooks.org/plantdisease/host-disease-descriptions/m?title=maple
     
  3. bijjy

    bijjy Active Member

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    Thank you Ron. I've missed reading your knowledgeable responses. I should come by here more often.
     
  4. 17 Maples

    17 Maples Active Member

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    go figure but we have had die-back completely from psychosis ind inducement, this was the case on an old Maple previously on my parents locale. again check soil and drainage. some upright varieties - reds cannot stand intense sun exposure as they get older.
     
  5. projektor

    projektor Member

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    @bijjy, hope it's OK if I butt in?

    Our Maple tree never woke up after the long Toronto winter. This morning I noticed a few leaves growing out of the trunk (see attached pictures). Just like in bijjy's case, no signs of disease, the tree was perfectly healthy last fall.

    I'll be very grateful for any insights :)
     

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  6. Ron B

    Ron B Paragon of Plants 10 Years

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    Maybe it froze back. Otherwise, bacterial blight begins in fall, manifests in spring.
     

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