hi all, Great site and forum for information! I am totally new to this and am trying to learn. i've scoured the site but still am not sure what i'm up against. I have this large *** maple that looks pretty healthy from a distance, but upon closer inspection, this guy seems to have some problems.Some damaged branches and what looks like fungus. Any advice on what kinda of shape he is in and if anyone knows what up with those grey/white patches on the branches. All are shown in the attahed pics. Thanks in advance to all you maple lovers! Regards, G
Re: Newbie HELP.. This *** Maple in trouble?fungus?) I wouldn't worry too much. Overall it looks good. I see some possible canker (the areas with the open wounds, cracked bark) but the tree has likely compartmentalized that or is in the process of so. These areas could be the result of physical damage such as hail or sun scald. On these area you could take an exacto knife and trim away any jagged tissue. You could remove necrotic tissue back to healthy wood, leaving a clean elliptical shaped wound which may compartmentalize faster. Clean your blade with alcohol in between cuts. As for the grey/white patches, this may be lichen or just a natural sort of patina that is common on older bark of Japanese Maples and other trees. The leaves look healthy. If you wanted to cover your bases you could spray with Phyton 27 and/or wait till dormant (the tree not you)and apply Kocide or another dormant spray labeled for fungus. Find some other mature Japanese Maples in your area and look at them I think that you will find the same kind of patterns on them.
Re: Newbie HELP.. This *** Maple in trouble?fungus?) Elmore, Thank you very much for your response! BTW, I'm dormant as we speak. ;-) Any other opinions would be appreciated! Regards, Glenn
Re: Newbie HELP.. This *** Maple in trouble?fungus?) Glenn, While your tree is probably in O.K. health it suffers as many maples will over time from bark related issues. The problems you have with the grey areas are not likely fungal related but the areas that Brad indicates might be cankers are not healthy. I am not real familiar with how canker looks, but they have not healed, either from a systemic pathogen or topical infection by any number of organisms. A razor blade used to flatten or clean up the areas is one I have not heard, but it makes sense to give the tree a fresh opportunity to heal. What I would do, and it may not be proper or modern thought would be to treat the injury areas (either with our without the razor balde trick) with a copper or sulfer fungicide and then seal the area with a paste or wax or tree sealant. I have found that sometimes with slow healing wounds, the decay caused by organisms working on the outter bark area prevent the wound from healing fast enough. The sealant seems to help. Treat first and let air dry for most of a day. As far as the grey or scale-like areas, I would make sure you use a good multi-purpose fertilizer complete with good mineral compsition and a 0-10-10 granular in the fall to give the tree as much vigor as possible. If you can increase vigor some, the problems can be contained and the health of the tree and its life can be prolonged. If left to its on devices, it will not likley be long before you see some twig or branch loss. MJH
Re: Newbie HELP.. This *** Maple in trouble?fungus?) Glenn, It looks like your primary cause is sun scald or sun burn to the bark. Just like our skin, the bark of the maple is prone to sun burnning if exposed to sun on hot days. This can cause fissures to form in the bark if the burning was extreme. It looks like the grey layers are aged bark and if you scrape away the grey you should find a green underlayment (the active cambium). I would not do this to any great extent, it would open up the tree to infections. Fungus may have moved in secondarily once the bark was no longer alive (killed from the burning). This can cause further damage and cracks to form. Unless a canopy develops from the leaves of your laceleaf, you may have to live with the appearance of those branches on the outer limbs. The whitish bark is normal to maples with lot's of sun. If it is not sun exposure, you should spray like brad recommended. Also, it looks like you could get a bit closer to the collar (mainstem) when you trim branches. The excess reamaining dead wood could allow fungus to get established. good luck, robert
Re: Newbie HELP.. This *** Maple in trouble?fungus?) Link to new thread: Bark Related Issues http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/showthread.php?p=22276#post22276 MJH
