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black spots on tree trunks

Kimberly zone 10 so cal

6 years ago

hello all, i'm hoping against hope someone here will be able to tell me what's happening to my maple collection. this past summer i lost many of my containerized maples, all suffering from black areas on the trunks. is it possible the disease/fungus is spreading from maple to maple? or in a bad batch of soil? i would understand losing a tree or two, but i've lost more than 20! can someone jump in with some insight/advise as to how to stop this from spreading further? thanks so much!

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Comments (4)

tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
6 years ago
Any chance of getting some pix as well as some background on their care, the weather, etc.?

tj
Kimberly zone 10 so cal thanked tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
Photos are essential - otherwise we are just guessing. And tell us what kind of soil media you used in the containers.
Kimberly zone 10 so cal thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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Kimberly zone 10 so cal
Original Author
6 years ago
this is japanese sunrise, its in a bark based mix, it looks dry because we have wind today, but it's not dry past a 1/4" down. most of the maples i've already gotten rid of, but they have all been in different media, in different areas of the yard, from different vendors, different ages, and all of them surrounded by other maples that are thriving.

this is garden glory. i cut off the top of the tree, hoping to save at least part of it, but it's going too. this one is in an acid mix.

this is memoir koyosan, in an acid mix. again, looks dry because of wind. and also again, i cut off the majority of the beautiful tree trying to save at least something, but it's going too.

any advise or ideas of what you think it could be i'd appreciate. i can't find a common thread to the maples i've lost, i'm just heartsick to see it keep happening.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
The first is showing signs of bacterial blight, Pseudomonas. It is a very common issue with many of the colored bark maples, like Sango Kaku and Japanese Sunrise. Can't say with any certainty what's going on with the others........it could be any of a variety of different issues. If you can provide more detailed growing conditions and practices, that could be helpful.

Do you sterilize your pruners after removing dead or diseased portions of these trees? It is very easy to spread infections from tree to tree if not. In fact, I recommend sterilizing between each cut to be assured of not spreading any issues to clean tissue, even on the same plant.

Barring any other insight from participants here, it would be beneficial to take the trees to your local extension office for a diagnosis. They have access to plant pathology labs that can test for various issues that may not be visually obvious.

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