Maple tree question

[capetrees]

I have a maple tree in my side yard and have been struggling to keep it alive for years. Its about 5" calliper with a huge healing scar down the side. I bought it scarred from the nursery cheap 6 years ago when they were going to trash it anyway. Its watered deep in season weekly, organic fertilizer used monthly (espoma plant tone) on the surface allowing the nutrients to seep in over time and is in a bright sunny location. The soil around the roots is loose and rich and then ouside that is sandy soil, not compacted. The problems I am having are;

1 Half way through the summer, the leaves get all brown and burned looking, fall off and then after deep watering daily for about a week, they grow back but in a different shape and texture, almost leathery and larger than original. Anthracnose has been mentioned and that all the leaves need to be removed but at the end of the season, the leaves acually blow away completely anyway.

2. recently, I have noticed, now prior to budding, that a green moss like covering is around almost half of the branches, almost like a spanish moss type growth.

Why does the tree drop its leaves like it does, what can I do to prevent it from happening and what is the green moss like growth and should i be concerned?

I probably should have pictures but thats WAY to complicated for me. I can describe it to a tee though if needed

 

[lumberjack333]

Trees put out early leaves in the spring and late leaves in the summer, although the early leaves usually remain until fall. Also there are sun and shade leaves, the latter of the two sound like what you described as they are thicker and broader and they usually grow at the bottom or interior of the crown and need more surface area to catch light that is filtered out by the sun leaves. The leathery, waxy coating on the surface of the leaf is just a form of foliage "sunblock" to stop them from burning. If I had to guess I would say that the tree is so stressed from the wound that when it begins to start pushing out late leaves it can't support the early/sun leaves so the tree is killing them off for the needed energy boost to push the late leaves out.

As for a remedy I'm not too sure, you said there is no compaction around the base of the tree, how deep is the soil before clay? Other than that, keep the water to it during dry times, and maybe a light pruning (10% - 15% of crown) on some of the lower/inner short shoots would encourage more growth of the terminal/long shoots. Also you might want to try a nitrogen rich fertilizer (15-10-10) to encourage green growth, might keep those early leaves alive.

As for the moss, I wouldn't be too concerned... Should have no effect on the trees health at all.

 

[tree MDS]

I have a maple tree in my side yard and have been struggling to keep it alive for years. Its about 5" calliper with a huge healing scar down the side. I bought it scarred from the nursery cheap 6 years ago when they were going to trash it anyway. Its watered deep in season weekly, organic fertilizer used monthly (espoma plant tone) on the surface allowing the nutrients to seep in over time and is in a bright sunny location. The soil around the roots is loose and rich and then ouside that is sandy soil, not compacted. The problems I am having are;

1 Half way through the summer, the leaves get all brown and burned looking, fall off and then after deep watering daily for about a week, they grow back but in a different shape and texture, almost leathery and larger than original. Anthracnose has been mentioned and that all the leaves need to be removed but at the end of the season, the leaves acually blow away completely anyway.

2. recently, I have noticed, now prior to budding, that a green moss like covering is around almost half of the branches, almost like a spanish moss type growth.

Why does the tree drop its leaves like it does, what can I do to prevent it from happening and what is the green moss like growth and should i be concerned?

I probably should have pictures but thats WAY to complicated for me. I can describe it to a tee though if needed

Sounds like you're watering it too much and causing it to get anthracnose to me. A couple years ago we had too wet a spring and there was alot of that.

 

[lxt]

What kind of Maple Tree?


LXT.........

 

[PB]

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/Spfo/pubs/fidls/anthracnose_east/fidl-ae.htm

Clay is a bitc*.

 

[lumberjack333]

If the browning occurs around the leaf margins then it is most likely to do with dry conditions and scorching, if the browning appears as spots near veins and follows the veins of the leaf toward the stem or "petiole" then its is most likely anthracnose.

 

[capetrees]

I have no clay at all, the soil here being all sand down to the water table which is some 40 below. The browning I think does occur as a result of the scorching. The scar is improving in that its 6 years old so I don't think its effecting the tree that much but maybe. I'm going to try to get a sprinkler head to the base of the tree and maybe this will help. Not the leaves but the roots will stay moist. I've looked into the anthracnose idea but it doesn't quite fit the bill in its description. BTW, the crown of the tree is only about 10' in that the tree is about 15' tall. Also, don't remember if its an Acer rubrum, saccharum or saccharinum. Is there a way to tell? Now that I think about it, if its a swamp maple, it probably likes the water thus the name. Duh.

 

[PB]

I have no clay at all, the soil here being all sand down to the water table which is some 40 below. The browning I think does occur as a result of the scorching. The scar is improving in that its 6 years old so I don't think its effecting the tree that much but maybe. I'm going to try to get a sprinkler head to the base of the tree and maybe this will help. Not the leaves but the roots will stay moist. I've looked into the anthracnose idea but it doesn't quite fit the bill in its description. BTW, the crown of the tree is only about 10' in that the tree is about 15' tall. Also, don't remember if its an Acer rubrum, saccharum or saccharinum. Is there a way to tell? Now that I think about it, if its a swamp maple, it probably likes the water thus the name. Duh.

Sorry, I can't read. If it is a red maple, the twigs will have a red hue to them, while the saccharum and saccharinum will appear brown.

This year, I would try and do nothing and see what happens.

 

[acer saccharum]

Also, don't remember if its an Acer rubrum, saccharum or saccharinum. Is there a way to tell? Now that I think about it, if its a swamp maple, it probably likes the water thus the name. Duh.

Here is how I was taught to tell them apart.

Sugar Maple -> seeds in fall
Red and Silver -> seeds in spring

Leaves
Silver -> More deeply lobed than Red and Sugar
Sugar -> Slightly cupped between the lobe, think of a sugar bowl when comparing to a red maple leaf which will come to a sharper point in between the lobes.

 

[elmnut]

10-15 gallons a week, water slowly to avoid run off. Marginal leaf scorch, and early leaf drop can be caused by overwatering. Have you looked for petiole borers?

 

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

Max Holding capacity?

Hey cape your maples neighboring soil may have reached it's max holding capacity and really you may be overwatering as well. But, i'll ask you this since no one else has. Do you have a septic tank and or field lines/leach lines near the tree? You could be doing all the right things to save it but your septic and its operating system could be inducing unhealthy amounts of methane gases into the vascular system of the tree and/or harsh chemicals in the septic system(septic cleansers)! Your tree is on an obvious decline due to the wound and possible poisoning. So just keep ruling things out but don't overlook the obvious! Good Luck :monkey:

 

[pbtree]

Possible to post a pic? I would like to see it...

 

[capetrees]

As mentioned before, pics are way too complicated for me on the computer. There also is no septic uder or around the tree, its all virgin sand outside the soil I set around the tree when I planted it. One thing for sure is I can't over water the tree in the soils around here, its all straight beach sand. Run a hose all day and there will not be a puddle on the ground. Thats not to say the soil around the tree, about 10' diameter couldn't hold water for a while and also the sand below the surface is always moist. One idea I was having is, is it possible that by the time the tree is showing signs of stress with the leaves browning and wilting and falling off, could it be that not only is the tree in need of water today but actually needed it three or four days ago? By that I mean by the time I notice the damage occuring, am I too late to fix the problem in that its going to take a day or two to get the water into the tree and all the while the trees leaves continue to wilt and fall? To combat the problem I figure a steady continuous watering, perhaps every other day for a half hour or so from a dedicated sprinkler head should do the trick along with light fertilizer. Thoughts?

 

[CLEARVIEW TREE]

Cape, i'm only a soon to be ISA arborist but i can tell you from years of experience that i've never seen a maple growing in sand. I don't think you've got the proper ratio of macro and micronutrients going on near this tree with the sand involved. Do a soil test and find your ph. You sound really motivated to save the tree, but theres always the fresh young sapling at depot or lowes waiting to be planted. So just weigh your options, you could be taking valuable time away from your biz trying to save the tree at this point! But regardless, good luck bud

 

[lumberjack333]

In its natural state in a forest stand, sugar maple often occurs in an upland area, with well drained sandy - loamy soils (not DRY just well drained/porous), so as long as the soil is fresh/moist water should not be an issue (except for extremely dry years). If you can get your hand on an air compressor and air-gun you should be able to excavate/blow soil away from the root ball to see how well the roots are formed, if the tree was planted improperly there will be crossover lateral roots (that grow away from the tree and then sharply turn back towards the tree) that need to be pruned and... well I know this sounds crazy but, cauterized to regain natural root development... something for thought anyways, take a look see.

 

[kruege84]

Hope this helps...

Pic 1 shows: Platanoides on the left, Rubrum in the middle, Saccharum on the right.

Pic 2 shows: Saccharinum