I am very new to this and need all the help/support I can get. Any advice would be greatly, greatly appreciated. So here goes... I have recently gotten married (YEA!!!) and recently bought a house with my lovely wife. At the front of our new home sits a very large japanese maple. I did not prune it at all last year, (interior of house needed major overhaul!!) and would like to prune and give love to the tree this year. I do know that this is the time of the year to prune. That is the extent of my knowledge when it comes to tree care. I love this tree. It has beautiful red leaves and adds great character to the front of my house. On one side of the tree there are three very large limbs where the bark has fallen off and are split. There is also some green mold on quite a few limbs as well. My questions are: (1) can I save the limbs where the bark is falling off and spliting (picture 1), and (2) should the green mold be a concern (picture 2), and (3) how much do I prune back and what do I do to ensure a healthy tree for years to come? If more pictures are needed please let me know and I will do my best to promptly post them. Thank you in advance, Teachable In addition to my first post I have started to do my research through UBC forums and posts. And now I AM FREAKED OUT!!!! I love this tree, it is so ornamental to the front of my house. I don't want to lose it. I want to prune it to be more ornamental. Above all... I WANT IT TO BE HEALTHY!!! Thanks again.
I had a hypothesis even before I looked at your first image. That was sunburn, and if the deadwood faced some kind of sun exposure. Then the last photo seems to tell a story that too much was pruned off - or died - from one side, allowing the sun to burn the tissue on that side. Does it seem like it could be that way as you stand there? Especially if the more barren side faces that sunset or S, SW. Any wilted leaves on one part of the tree, but not the other?
Okay so January of last year the tree had absolutely no leaves on it. As mentioned before interior of house was the main concern, now about 20 gallons of paint, 7 interior doors, and hundreds of feet of baseboards later I am concentrating on my beloved tree. I watered religiously over the past year and the tree produced enormous amounts of red leaves. All of them were healthy. Beautiful, full leaves with a nice red color. No wilting to be seen. The tree sits on the North side of the house and gets a little morning sun and then partial sun throughout the day. The limbs that has the bark falling off did not produce any leaves over the past year. So I am asuming from replys that these limbs are probably dead and need to be cut? If that is the case my poor tree is going to look lopsided. :( So.... My first job will be to cut the dead limbs off and make a lopsided tree tomorrow. Oh well, end result will be HEALTHY TREE!!!! The next lesson I need is how much to prune back? From the replies I will cut the dead limbs on the left hand side of picture 1. But how much do I cut on the healthy limbs? In pictures 2 and 3 there is a limb that has grown into another limb? WTF? (pardon the language but c'mon!!!) On top of the limbs growing into each other there is also a big split in the bark? What do I do about this? (picture 2 is just a smidge higher on the limb from picture 3. If it was a vertical panoramic they would be right on top of each other) Okay and lastly, also on pictures 2 and 3 you can see a greenish mold that is growing and in picture 4 there is some white spots that look like it may also be a mold of some sort? Should there be concern about this? Thank you SOOOOO much for those who did reply with help/advice!!!! There is a final inspection card stapled to the front of the garage. The house passed final inspection on June 2, 1983. As I said I am new at this, but the main trunk on the tree is at least ten inches in diameter, could the tree be as old as the house? In my mind I want to think so. Once again, THANK YOU for all who are helping me, Teachable
i agree with Sam ,now read FAQ ^ in genus maple (initial page) interesting post about maple pruning .ciao
I have just had a look through all of your pictures I find it difficult to imagine how you are ever going to get that tree to grow into a good shape Those branches look definitely dead, and assuming that they are, then you (as you say) are going to have a lop sided tree Have you had any thoughts on what has caused half of the tree to die off like that?
Sidewalk, Please don't give up on this tree! Yes, it looks forlorn right now, but I hate to see a tree that old bite the dust. It may indeed have one of the diseases mentioned, but amazingly some trees are able to isolate the disease and live on in spite of the odds. Now, to the pruning: Remove ALL dead limbs immediately. They are doing nothing for the health of the tree and serve as a convenient hotel for insects and diseases. If its dead, get rid of it! Since you don't know what is causing the problems with this tree, it will be essential to sterilize your pruning tools with bleach after each and every cut you make! This is like surgery! You want to minimize the chance of spreading infection to other parts of the tree. To make a bleach solution, add one cup of liquid chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of water. Dip the tools in the bleach solution for a few seconds, then make the cut. Wear rubber gloves and eye protection. Next, evaluate the other limbs with problems. In general, you want to remove limbs that cross or rub each other or are broken off. Its very important, however, to know exactly HOW to prune. Trees have mechanisms in place that act like an immune system of sorts, so if you prune properly you can take advantage of the tree's natural ability to heal cleanly. I've attached a document that describes the proper way to prune. Pay particular attention to the 3 cuts used to remove a limb, and get to understand what the branch "collar" is. Some people want to prune a branch flush with the trunk, but that's a bad practice as it removes the branch collar. This part of the branch has special cells in it which act as a protective barrier to prevent infection from getting into the trunk. Following good pruing practices will improve both the look and health of your tree over time. Additionally, I would caution you in removing too many large limbs at once. Trees react to severe pruning by sending up many weak limbs in an effort to produce more leaves (their food source). The result is often unsightly and is certainly not healthy for the tree. You may need to prune a little at a time over several years to eventually get the shape you want. I have a large oak I've been pruning on for over 6 years now. Its a huge tree with huge limbs, and I can only chance removing one or two larger limbs a year from it. Going slow lets the tree adapt and heal. Patience is a virtue!! :-) Last, I would encourage you to visit some of the public gardens in SF and see how they have pruned their trees. Since yours has been damaged and is now somewhat asymetrical, you may want to consider a picturesque form for your tree and begin pruning it with the end shape in mind. Think of it as a giant Bonsai. :-) Best of luck!
As mentioned before, I have just bought and moved into the house in Jan 08 and did not even take one look at the yard until now. I did water the tree regiolusly throughout the summer and it produced a great canopy and nice big, healthy red leaves. I did notice that one side had some limbs that were not producing leaves but did not pay much attention to it until now. I don't plan on moving within the next twenty years so hopefully this tree will eventually even itself out and not look so lopsided.
If there was a lot of activity there during the remodal the tree could have been damaged by that. As the roots go, so goes the top. Tree also looks like it might be planted a little deep. Japanese maples can be quite touchy about soil conditions, impeded drainage in particular is a recurring cause for grief. Luxuriating only to then blight off on one side may tend to imply a pathogenic infestation - perhaps from infested soil or other material tracked or driven onto the site. I once had some established, spontaneous vine maple (a related species) blight off after spreading some dark and moist organic material over their root zones - apparently the stuff was infested with verticillium or another soil-borne pathogen. Try California Cooperative Extension for help with determining your problem. By the way, this isn't, in fact a particularly large specimen - certainly not one that should be described as "huge". Fully developed Japanese maples (that are not dwarf cultivars) grow as much as 60' tall and more than 40' wide*. Here on the west coast specimens half that size are pretty common. *Both measurements obtained from actual living specimens right here in WA - and not including those found over a wider area, in much older plantings; see Van Pelt, CHAMPION TREES OF WASHINGTON STATE (1996, University of Washington, Seattle) for locations, measurements and photos
To all that have replied, Thank you so much for your help. You guys are a blessing, great karma, good people, however you want to look at it, you guys are the BEST!!! You guys have given me so many tools in the past two days. I appreciate all the links, attachments and all around good advice. As much as I didn't want to hear it, the "patience is a virtue" post really hit home with me. I do not want to loose this tree. When I bought and moved into the house in Jan 08, it looks just like it does now, barren with no leaves. Then through the spring and summer it produced some beautiful leaves and a great canopy. So I will do my research, prune carefully (and not take too much at once), ask for help with some of the local agencies, and hopefully over the years have a nice healthy, good looking tree. And so with my patience and tools that you all so generously gave maybe I will end up with a 40yr old, 50 ft tall, and 30ft wide tree. Please stay tuned to this thread as I will probably have more questions and I will continue to post pictures to show you the growth and beauty of my tree. :) Thanks again!!!!
You can restore this tree back to health (reclaim) but the restoration back to being a full bodied tree will take some time. The deadened branches all show evidence of a bacterial canker (streaking in the wood) and you also have some signs of Verticillium alboatrum in the center of the wood. All of the split wood needs to come off this tree immediately. Do not cut any of the live limbs until you can see in the Spring what is live and healthy and which limbs are not. At this point in time with this tree, the crossing and fused limbs are not a big deal to worry about. The green mold on the bark of the tree is rather common to see in trees this age and older, really is not a problem at any time at this stage. This tree is older in age than the house is by the way. Probably was a fifteen gallon sized plant when planted. I do not like drip systems used as a standalone, thus it may be in your best interest to start to deep water this tree once a month where you are during the Summer months. You will have to deep water this tree when and if you trim the top of the tree back to reshape it or prune this tree way back to conform in height and spread to what is left alive on the barren side, nearest the road. Let's see what is left of the tree in the Spring and go from there when all the "WTF" kid stuff comments have since been abandoned in this forum, if you want my further help with this tree. You can also give us a better idea where in the Bay area you are located. The reason why is someone may be able to put you in contact with a close in proximity reputable nursery that may help provide assistance in who to contact to do the trim and reconstructive work. Sometimes heat from blacktop can prevent nearby limbs from leafing out for over a year once those limbs have been suppressed by internal diseases and resultant sun burning or from too much shade (lack of light). Not uncommon to see the barren, live, limbs in some trees but the splitting in other limbs along with the bark deterioration is a sign of worse things to come if left untreated. Jim
I agree with Mr. Shep and quite a few of the other comments I have seen here. To me, it looks like the tree has a fairly severe vascular fungus problem--Verticillium or one of its friends or relatives. It has killed several of the large branches and may spread to the rest of tree. I agree with those who say that the completely dead should come off right away--fungi produce fruiting bodies that may disseminate spores in winter in San Francisco (not sure about this). A knowledgeable person should be able to tell which branches are completely dead--those that are beyond recovery will not have dried-up buds, the bark will have a sunken, dried-up look, and the tissue beneath the bark will be dry and brown rather than fresh green and white. I think it is a potentially ominous sign that, as of a couple of days ago, the tree still had some leaves that looked like they dried up on the tree. Healthy trees drop their leaves in winter; retaining leaves in winter in palmatum is a sign of ill health, in my experience. That's all the bad news I have. The good news is that my trees seem to be very resililent. I've several times lost major branches to vascular problems, but the trees do come back, surprisingly quickly, and they can become attractively shaped again in just a few years. I've found that once a tree has an attack from a vascular problem like this, it tends to recur. Branches with black streaks on the bark should be cut off, or the bark should be shaved off to healthy tissue. Then the tree's natural defenses have a good chance of defeating the disease. At least, that's been my experience. If, after a few years of attention, the tree keeps losing branches, I'd be inclined to give up and start over--lots of maples will grow surprisingly fast where they are happy. If it comes to that, you should consider replacing the soil, because these fungal diseases can spread to newly planted trees from contaminated soil. Well, I know what it's like to lose a treasured tree, so I wish you good luck. Japanese maples can be heartbreakers, but when they work there is no tree more beautiful. D.
