Japanese maple has a black spot with liquid oozing out...?
jayco
14 years ago
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Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agojayco
14 years agoRelated Discussions
Disease susceptibility of Japanese Maple
Comments (9)The only fungal disease known, that affects JM's (and many other trees & woody plants), is Verticillium Wilt. It develops on the roots and blocks the uptake of moisture & nutrients to the foliage. Once it becomes well established, the tree will die. There is no known treatment or cure. Almost any of the JM's you purchase, is already infected with the disease, since propagators don't usually test rootstock before grafting. The one's in Oregon are particularly known for using dirty rootstock. That being said, you can usually prevent the disease from multiplying and seriously affecting the health of your tree. Select a location that is shielded from the sun during the hottest part of the day. Keep the soil moist, not damp or soggy, in the root zone. Do not allow it to dry out. Do not overfertilize the tree. Apply a light application of balanced fertilizer (12-12-12 is fine) in early spring, when new growth begins. Use compost in late summer, for additional nutrition. Apply mulch over the roots, to conserve moisture. Leave an air gap of 3-4 inches around the trunk, to prevent insects and diseases from entering the tree trunk. Do any pruning in early winter, as the sap rises early in Maples. Check any tree before purchase, for signs of disease, such as dead branches, curling or yellow (chlorotic) leaves. The Coral Bark JM ('Sango Kaku') is a good choice. Very colorful in the winter, with it's red bark. Mine is about 20 years old and it receives a "haircut" almost ever winter, to keep it in shape and height limited to around 8ft. It's at the drip edge of a White Oak and a Southern Magnolia....See MoreJapanese maple has a black spot with liquid oozing out...?
Comments (5)Bad news. I had one with similar issues and I got some Bayer Systemic fungicide. You can get it at Lowes, and I think its called Rose and Flower care. Anyway, there are two kinds - one kind that also has fertilizer in with it - just get the plain kind. That stuff completely saved my tree! It is systemic, so it gets absorbed into the tree. I applied it every two weeks and did 3 applications, then two more in the fall. My tree has totally recovered....See MoreLaceleaf red japanese maple has no activity/buds
Comments (11)Still no buds/activity on the laceleaf maple, which was bought at a real nursury and was looking great in the fall after I put it in. I'm holding out hope but it is almost May and I'm surprised there are still no buds. Other maples in my yard and sidewalk out front are doing great. The sugar maples along our street rapidly bloomed this week. My bloodgood maple is fully leafed out, which tells me it is pretty hearty, considering I moved it 3 times since I bought it at Home Depot last year. It is only 3 feet tall though, so I suppose moving it didn't hurt it as much as a big tree, plus I didn't take apart the root ball any of the moves, esp. the last one, when my hardscape contractor moved it with his Bobcat machine. Anyone else in zone 7a have laceleaf maples that are not blooming yet? I hope this sucker isn't dead....See MorePossible Virticillium Wilt in Japanese Maple
Comments (1)Verticillium wilt is very present in PNW soils......it is a pretty common problem and seems to affect Japanese maples more so than most other species. To answer your questions.....you can have it tested and confirmed if you wish but it is not absolutely necessary if you are feeling relatively secure in your diagnosis. The second tree may not be infected. VW is an opportunistic pathogen and typically infects trees that are stressed or damaged for some reason. It is quite possible to have a second JM or other susceptible species close by that is untouched and often will remain so. Species that are not as prone to VW as Japanese maples and older, very well-established trees can often survive the disease long term with only partial dieback, provided proper care is given. I have yet to see a JM infected with VW in our area survive very long, so forget the 'management" approach. It just doesn't work with a Japanese maple :-) Typically, VW is extremely fast acting with Japanese maples, with the entire tree dying in a matter of days. It will not hurt at this point to take a wait and see approach with the affected tree - significant dieback that is present in spring (by failure to leaf out) may or may not indicate imminent death. Usually, VW and the very rapid decline shows up in mid to late summer, but with the extremes our weather has demonstrated over the past couple of years, these early season signs of the disease are becoming more prevalent. If the disease is confirmed, the tree should be removed, but I'd be extremely careful about root removal. If there is any chance the roots of the problem tree have intermingled with the nearby healthy (so far) tree, leave them alone and in place. Again, VW is present in most NW soils so it is very likely the pathogen is throughout your garden. But it is typically present in an inactive or dormant state unless stimulated into activity by root damage, mechanical damage or excessive stress. If planted carefully, given proper care and good garden sanitation adhered to, there is no certainty any other susceptible tree or shrub on your property will contract the disease. In my old garden, I lost two trees to VW, one in the front and one in the backyard. Since they were never present in the garden during the same time period, there was no chance one could have infected the other. VW susceptible species were planted close to both but were never infected either. But I never disturbed the root systems - the one in front (a JM) I cut down and the young western redbud in back I just left in place as a vine support until it finally rotted away. It is disturbing to lose a valuable and well-loved tree to this disease. But it did not discourage me from adding additional VW susceptible plants to my garden, however any new Japanese maples I did confine to containers to reduce any further possibility of problems. That became the start of a rather large collection of containered JM's, which I was able to take with me when I moved. Wouldn't have been able to do that had they been planted in the ground, so there's a bit of a silver lining in any dark cloud :-)...See MoreDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agojayco
14 years agojayco
14 years agoDan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
14 years agojayco
14 years agoNimboli
4 years agoHU-366261166
4 years agoNimboli
4 years agoHU-366261166
4 years agortond
4 years agoHU-894674302
15 days agoBillMN-z-2-3-4
14 days agodavidrt28 (zone 7)
14 days ago
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