Maple Problem

[Hawkeye]

I have five young (about 12 feet tall) Maple trees along the street in front of my house. As best I can tell, these are Red Maple. This is my second summer here and both years I am seeing some of the leaves on the new growth, mainly at the top, dying away. It starts with browning around the edges and ends up with the leaf shriveling up completely brown and falling off. I end up with the top foot of the tree being bare twigs. I also see some kind of bugs swarming around above each tree and have to figure they have something to do with it. Anyone know what's going on, is it a real problem, and what can be done? Thanks.

 

[Jay Banks]

Hawk,
It sounds like new transplants, about 2-3 inch caliper. What may be happening is these trees have lost 95% of their root systems when dug from the nursery. And each year the growth is not getting enough moisture from a reduced rooting system. The tree dies back from the outer branches. If this cycle continues the trees may die completely in 5 years.

First, make sure the tree is not planted to deep. the root collar (flare) should be at or slightly above the finised grade. Next, make sure the burlap and wire cage are removed from the top half of the root ball. If the burlap is still in place the new roots can not establish fast enough to meet the demands of the leaves.

Make sure you maintain a layer of mulch. No deeper than 3 inches and keep it away from the trunk by 6 inches. Then water enough to keep the top 3 inches of soil moist. So you have to soak the ground slowly for a long time. This should help.

Jay Banks
Certified Arborist
Urban Forester

 

[Treeman14]

Twig borers often cause the type of injury you described. They bore into the small diameter branches causing the terminal 8 to 12 inches to die back. Look for tiny holes at the point of death and hollowing of the twigs. Although it looks serious, it often doesn't affect the health of the tree. The best control measure is prevention by keeping the tree healthy. Contrary to popular belief, fertilizing may actually attract twig borers by stimulating the growth of succulent shoots.