my jm of 12 years is now splitting on the trunk tree lost all of its leaves during April 2007 heavy killing frost. splits are about 12 inches long in three places. is there something i can do to seal the bark and the splits in the trunk so i can see if the tree makes it thru the winter and releafs in the spring or am i beating a dead horse so to speak.
Has it been leafless all summer? If yes, then it's dead. To confirm, scratch the bark on the shoots; if alive, it should be green. If it is brown down to the white wood, then that confirms dead.
Mine did the same thing this year. It had a yellow powder under the bark. I dug it up last night to prepare for a replacement. At $70.00 for a smaller replacement, this time I am going to be more knowledgeable of the situation and I am going to use some of the limbs I prune to grow future replacements should the problem reappear. I think I had over fertilized my lawn this year and that is what killed it and a weeping willow about 10' away.
the pics are pics of dead maple, but like Michael write cut a little and seen if the branch are green ....
