If it is a maple and it has wilt there is no hope. Maple wilt is incurable. Even if it's another species it is so far gone there's no saving it. Call the city, tell them there's dangerous dead tree that needs to be removed.

Thank you for your suggestion. I hope it's not maple wilt, is there any way to tell from the pictures or anything I can check? I'm hoping it's Anthracnose which seems like it might be treatable?

Anthracnose is primarily a foliage disease, although it can sometimes become vascular. Infection varies from year to year, some years none, some years complete defoliation. Trees that are infected one year may be perfectly normal for years until conditions are optimal for a return of the disease. The disease is spread from year to year primarily from fallen leaves. Anthracnose is treatable, but I highly doubt any city would be willing to spray for it.

Your description doesn't match anthracnose as the primary cause, but some foliage may be infected. Can you get a picture of the whole tree from some distance? If the tree is infected with maple wilt, which is Verticillium, it's a soil borne disease and any replacement tree will have to be verticillium resistant, or you risk reinfection.

It's hard to tell what kind of maple you've got, my first impression was Norway, a species considered invasive in many jurisdictions, and if so my guess is it will be removed rather than treated. Just curious, where are you located?

what city ...

whether it Anthracnose or wilt.. there is nothing you can do ...

leave problems never concern me ... but that long latitudinal wound.. along with 20 or 30% canopy death ... means.. in my world.. removal is in store ... though it could take a decade to die completely ...

contact the city for removal.. and ask them to plant another.. and then slather the love on a new healthy tree ...

ken

Thanks very much. I fear you're right it may have to go. Here's a picture of the whole tree. One a bit down the block (but not right next to it) has the same thing but much less advanced, trees of other species in between are fine. We're in Brooklyn. I also doubt the city would bother to treat it but as I love having a tree out my window I was considering trying to treat it if it might be salvageable. Otherwise I have many years to wait for a new tree to grow high enough...

Not easy being a tree in an urban area. You have compacted soils, air pollution, reflected heat off brick, "Urban Heat Island Effect", salt in the Winter, and get peed on regularly. This year you also have moderate drought conditions.

I would say your tree is on its way out. The sad thing is that a replacement tree has virtually no chance of reaching the size of your tree in this day and age. Statistics show that on average a forest tree with an expected lifespan of 150 years can be expected to live 50-60 years in a suburban/park setting and just 20-30 years in an urban setting. I've wondered what the future holds for the swamp white oaks at the 9/11 Memorial.

ken, if they've provided good soil & sufficient root-zone areas, those swamp white oaks may do OK. I have a feeling there was good input & thoughtful consideration to the planting/survival of those trees.

I've tried Google, but there's nothing current, just the original install. My understanding is the trees are in what is in effect giant planters, below which is open space, certainly not unusual in cities in this day and age. But unlike other plantings, I would think these should be "forever trees", no to be replaced when they go bad with new ones. They have the genetic potential to live a couple centuries.Of course nothing lives forever. What do I know lol.

An arrangement like that has been at Kykuit for about a hundred years now. A surprising amount of the house is underground. Mostly servant areas, but Nelson's art galleries are also there. This area is above an underground space.

Somebody, please get a chainsaw and put this pitiful thing out of its misery! LOL

Going by just the bark - not terribly reliable for identification - this does appear to be a Norway maple as kentrees suggested in his first post. These are tremendously resilient trees which can survive for a very long time even with fungal infections. They have the ability to outgrow a great many problems and, again as kentrees pointed out, the severity of infection can vary considerably from year to year. If the right hand side of the tree is so far gone that it has become a hazard to cars and pedestrians, it needs to be removed. Cutting down the entire tree is unnecessary. The tree potentially has many more years of useful life and removal of a tree of this size in an urban environment ought to be done as a last resort only. Perhaps the most useful thing that could be done is to make sure the tree receives water during extended dry spells. If there is a neighborhood association or urban tree organization, this watering would be a worthwhile project.

A quick reminder that in old established communities when a mature dying tree (especially maples) is discovered along street right-a-ways it may also mean that there is an underground gas line nearby with a slow leak. Very common problem seldom recognized. Gas company should be notified to check the area for gas leaks just in case this may be the situation.

kentrees, found this about the 9/11 oaks. Looks like they will last for a reasonable time, but I'm not sure what the situation is in their root-zones (are the zones restricted?):

http://www.hortmag.com/plants/9-11-memorial-trees

This looks like tulip poplar to me (judging from the mangled leaf). The bark does look like norway maple but the leaf doesn't match up.

Look more closely, not just at the curled leaf but also the shots of the tree. It's a Maple.

beng12

Thanks. However, the article is 5 years old.

I just had a thought. If the trees flourish and are productive, I wonder how they'll deal with the acorns. Ever walk on a hard surface littered with them? I guess they'll have to spray the trees when they bloom to keep them from setting fruit.

I'm not sure what exactly you should do with this tree? I would say remove all of the diseased wood (which would mean topping it or cutting it down)

kentrees, I'd think there'd be plenty employees to sweep up the acorns. Squirrels would lend a hand, too.

Likey one or the other of common leaf scorch. One is bacterial, the other fungal, and in reality, a third type is due to environmental conditions, mainly drought. But the guys that said "maple wilt" could be correct as well, that being verticillium wilt. One can take a branch, scrape off the bark, and find streaks of browned tissue (should be green) to aid in diagnosing verticillium. And this could be important, in that there are numerous genera of trees susceptible to verticillium, and that pathogen resides in the soil. So if it was to turn out this tree has/had verticillium, one would have to make sure the replacement tree is one not susceptible to that pathogen.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. The neighborhood has a lot of great trees- some oaks in front of the building that are more than 6 stories tall. Very interesting theory about the gas leak. Other maple trees seem to have the same problem (but less bad) but other species of trees in between them look fine, which is why I thought that an infection specific to maple was likely. It sounds like it's likely it's a goner but possible that it's a leaf problem that may resolve on its own? I'm thinking i should water it and just wait to see what happens in the spring. If it's not seeming healthy then get it cut down. Is there anything else I could do, tree fertilizer or any other suggestions? Thanks very much!

This obviously isn't one of those great trees in your neighborhood. Put this poor thing out of it's misery.

Bear in mind-if this is one or the other of leaf scorch conditions, it could spontaneously get better next year. As such, that basal pruning cut (
whole tree removal, folks) may not actually be warranted. I'd wait and see how the foliage looks next year before deciding on any action. Plus, is there not a municipal forestry division that should be involved?