Hi, I have just moved in 6 months ago and I noticed one of the branches of my Japanese maple tree is drying so I cut the branch off. (pic 1) Later, I noticed the wood feels kind of soft but the wood under it feels alright. I removed the soft part of the bark (pic2). I asked the local nursery and they asked me to cut off parts of the stem to prevent any potential spread of disease. I am not sure whether I want to do that yet. Please advise on why the wood could be soft. Do I need to do a drastic act of cutting the stem of my Japanese maple. Please advise.
From what i see i think you will have to replace the tree. The softness is probably rot and the black is a serious infection. Im new at this so somebody with more experience will probably chime in.
In places where the "wood" (bark) feels soft, the bark has died and pulled away from the wood, so you are feeling the gap that gives when you press on it. In pic 2 you can see some lip wood around the wound, which isn't new. So the tree is trying to heal, but the wood in the uncovered area looks like it's rotting also. There are black spots of bacterial infection visible in various places, which will likely spread. To have a chance you'd have to IMHO cut to below the green tie seen in pic 1, and even then it's a coin flip. Sometimes it's just better to start again, you'll have a better tree in the long run. So I guess I'm with Jim on this one. -E
