Can this Japanese Maple be Saved?
Metro East
8 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoMaplesthebest
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Can I Save my 20+ year old Japanese Maple?
Comments (7)David, VW can often invade during dormancy and make severe inroads - it is quite common - and a pretty pernicious attack it can be as it is difficult to diagnose any problem when the tree is not in leaf :-( The first sign that there is any problem is a failure of large portions of the tree to leaf out in spring. As to the rapidity of its spread, it can be very sudden, decimating an entire tree within a matter of days, although that is far more typical with young trees than it is with mature, well-established ones and is generally more of a midseason phenomenon. I've had it happen myself and it is startling to see how fast a decline can be produced. With a tree this mature, an overnight or very rapid decline is quite unusual - generally it is just a portion of the tree that is affected and if otherwise healthy, the tree is often able to compartmentalize the pathogen and even outgrow the problem. From such a distance and by only verbal description, it is pretty nigh impossible to determine what exactly may be the cause of the problem. We are ony offering speculations. I would agree that replanting with another maple (or other VW susceptible species) in the same location is NOT advised....See MoreSaving a Japanese Maple After an Ice Storm
Comments (6)THANK YOU David. I appreciate your help here, but I'd already sort of planned on letting the tree thaw with sap in it's veins and me perhaps staying out of nature's plan until Spring. This JM doesn't seem brittle at all since it didn't split or break but I am reluctant to try touching it and maybe breaking it with my panicked effort when all things are frozen solid as glass we can shatter. I think maybe patience is called for here, rather than pro-active efforts on my part right now when the beautiful little tree is brittle and frozen. We'll soon see what happens to our prized little now 9 foot Maple tree, and like always I am counting down the days until Spring. I just wondered if this sort of thing was unusual and you have given me some hope here. That Japanese Maple has always loved it's spot and grown slow but perfectly into a tree with a grace that seemed destined to have giant bonsai qualities. I'll suffer the tough winter with it and put it on notice that it'd time to straighten up. God only knows how many times I've been told to do that very same thing. I have a lot of faith in this tree but I'm no expert at maples like it, or how to care for it when it's so bent from 3 inches of ice as it's load. I planted that espensive tiny tree on my 25th wedding anniversary back 9 years ago and my wife is now not happy. She thinks it is ruined, but I think maybe I can save this very special tree if I don't do anything stupid. Poor Karen (my wife) has now endured my mad passions for 34 years and that includes the indoor greenhouse I once built in our first apartment. Now she and I just feel "special" about our little maple tree. jim On Dec 4, 2006, at 5:06 PM, myersphcf wrote:...See MoreSave my Japanese maple tree
Comments (1)Not sure there is a lot you can do for it at this point. JM's are prone to a variety of soil pathogens that can severely damage or even kill the tree. This one looks like it might be dying a slow death :-(( What I would suggest is getting rid of all the rocks - they are not helping and could be hurting the tree. And carefully prune out all the dead wood you see. It will be a pale color, often gray, compared to the dark color of healthy tissue. Dead wood tends to harbor insects and allows an inroad for other disease issues. Then just keep the tree adequately watered - not too much, not too little. Just don't allow the soil to dry completely. And no fertilizer!! If the tree does not respond or seems to get worse, then it's time to contemplate removal. But I would be cautious about replanting with another JM until you can confirm what caused the problem (and that may involve a path lab analysis), as some of these soil pathogens will infect any other susceptible species planted that space. Going forward, you might want to post any other questions you have about Japanese maples on the Maples forum. This one is pretty much inactive and most JM enthusiasts post there....See MoreCan this Japanese Maple be saved?
Comments (2)Thanks Gardengal! I just got similar feedback from the University of Maryland extension folks. They had a plant pathologist look at the photos. Said the black spots and discoloration were just stress cankers on the branches. They are caused by minor damage to the bark that enables a secondary pathogen to get into that area of the tree. No fungicide treatment was recommended. Advised to wait until its warmer when the buds open up and develop, then to prune out any dead stems....See Morekitasei
8 years agomsjam2
8 years agoMetro East
8 years agocearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
8 years agoPhoto Synthesis
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoMetro East
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years agoMetro East
8 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
8 years ago
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