There is a 40 year old Japanese Maple in my back yard against the house on the East side. I live in Fresno, ca and the temperatures in the summer get up to 115 degrees with pretty low humidity. The bark has been peeling off for a few years and hasn't fixed itself. Just this afternoon I noticed that most of the branches are growing bright green happy leaves, but a few of the large branches are completely leafless. Is it sun-damaged, or something worse? It's the only shade for my bedroom window in the summer, and it's a beautiful tree, so I would really hate for it to continue to deteriorate. Any advice will help. I'll post some pictures if i can. Thanks!
Hi, some pictures would definitely help, see here for a guide if you are unsure how to attach them. There are a few members here who grow Japanese maples in your part of the world (and other areas with a similar climate) who might be able to give you some good advice.
I'm not familiar with whether Verticillium is a problem in your area. But I'm sure you will want to find out, and search online about that anyway. There is a ton of information about that online. How long have you had this tree? Could it have been topped? Sometimes topping can expose bark to sunburn. If it was topped, usually you can detect somewhere in the canopy at a similar height, where various branches have a transition or stub remnants that have a slightly different appearance. It's hard to explain. But if its there, you could probably tell after looking for a short while. Because topping often triggers more sprout-like growth which tends to be more vertical.
My parents have owned the house where it is since 1988, but the tree has been here about 40 years. It has never been topped, but it has been pruned by an arborist. I do think it may have been sunburned, but does that explain why some of the large branches (at least six inches in diameter) show no signs of life at all? I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow. Thanks!
Maybe - Maybe not. Sunburn could happen if an unseasonably hot spring day came prior to leaves emerging and shading. Maybe in a hot zone like yours. And if another plant or something was removed from the south side, another maybe. You said the tree is on the east, and that can shade some sunset. But even up here near Portland, I'm amazed at the number of times I see big patches of sunburn damage and peeling bark on Japanese maples set on the east side of the house. And 90% of the time, its due to some branches having been pruned off a bit too quickly, instead of incrementally. And then, your tree may not have sunburn.
