40 year old sugar maple struggling

[AK2021]

Hi all! We have a 40 year old maple in our front yard and it’s beautiful. We live in Ottawa, Ontario and the last couple years the leaves on one large branch have fallen off mid summer rather than October. This year we’ve noticed some holes from wood peckers and also the bark falling off one branch with leaves missing. We are wondering if it is a bug issue, a nutrient issue or lack of water, or if it’s a lifecycle issue. It is a city tree and we’ve had it pruned and they attached a cable between the two large branches of the tree. We just wanted to reach out to see if there’s anything we should be doing to care for it. I’ve attached some photos that hopefully help.

 

[Raintree]

Sugar maple is a poor choice for a street tree. With the flare less trunk dropping straight into the ground, root collar disorder is most likely your issue.

 

[buzz sawyer]

Any changes to the area around the base in the last 2-3 years?

 

[AK2021]

Sugar maple is a poor choice for a street tree. With the flare less trunk dropping straight into the ground, root collar disorder is most likely your issue.

Thank you for your response! Is there anything we can do to combat root collar disorder?

 

[AK2021]

Any changes to the area around the base in the last 2-3 years?

The only thing I can think is that our neighbour has their lawn treated with an organic lawn spray and 2 years ago the company they hired sprayed the strip of grass along the tree. Other than that nothing has changed. Thank you very much for your help in trying to figure this out. I really appreciate it!

 

[Del_]

Are and week killers being used in the lawn area?

Any road salt ever get into or drain into the lawn area around the tree?

 

[Raintree]

You can hire an arborist to air-spade the root collar. Once excavated there may be issues to correct, no guarantees. The older the tree the more difficult the fix.

 

[AK2021]

Are and week killers being used in the lawn area?

Any road salt ever get into or drain into the lawn area around the tree

It is close to the road so road salt does get onto the surrounding lawn. No weed killers though. I really appreciate your help with problem solving!

 

[AK2021]

You can hire an arborist to air-spade the root collar. Once excavated there may be issues to correct, no guarantees. The older the tree the more difficult the fix.

Thank you very much for the recommendation!