Dying Maple Trees

[markk]

We live in Michigan and have recently lost a 10-15 year old Sunset Maple. Now our larger Autumn Blaze maple is showing the same signs. The Autumn Blaze tree is about 30-35 feet tall with a trunk diameter of about 10-12 inches.

The leaves on some of the branches on one side of the tree are turning red (prematurely) and are beginning to fall off the tree. This is exactly what happened to our Sunset maple and within two years, that tree was completely dead.

I noticed on the Autumn maple that some of the bark on the tree trunk is nearly black and is soft. When I peeled some of it off, it is moist and rotting underneath. There were also many earwigs under the soft bark. I do not know if the bugs under the bark are killing the tree or something else is doing it.

I am wondering what I can do to try to save this tree.

Mark

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

Pictures will help, but if you want me to take a guess, I'd say when the tree was planted, it was put in too deep. This allows roots to grow up and circle the trunk, choking it off and causing the symptoms you see now. Search "girdling roots" for more information.
Post a picture of the whole tree, and one of the trunk going into the ground, including the area of soft bark, and we can give you more information.

 

[jokatico]

I have seen one Maple lose the leaves on the top branches, just turn brown and curl, and eventually lose all the leaves. The same thing is happening to my Maple tree in my yard. I have made calls to several tree companies in my area but if I don't want it cut down they can't look at the tree, too busy. I noticed clumps of winged bugs on the bark of the tree in the night time. Could they be killing the tree or is there some kind of disease killing the tree. I will get pics of the tree and insects as soon as I can. I do not want to lose my Maple, or have a customer lose their Maple tree.

 

[markk]

Mike,

I have added several images of my dying maple tree to my post at arboristsite.com.

Please review them and see if they offer you any clues.

Thanks, markk

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

You had someone with an air spade come out? Excellent.

As I suspected, the tree was planted too deep. You can see one whole side is girdled. I marked it in red (see picture linked below).
Does the red side line up with the declining side of the tree?

I also put a green mark on what looks like a root flare, but it's not. It's an advantageous root that grew from the trunk because it had soil up against it. It sprouted maybe 10 or more years ago. My bet is this side of the tree hosts the limbs that are still green.
Either way, the flare is still down several inches, perhaps over a foot.

Two other issues. One, there is new landscaping. This can be very stressful to trees. Grade changes affect roots. Even just new sod.
Also, this has been a big drought year, the third in a row for our area. Depending on whether or not you water, it may or may not be a factor.

Unfortunately your trees are suffering from an epidemic. That is improper planting depth.
At planting time the tree is put in too deep, it lives for years, then just when it's at a really nice size, it dies because of strangulation by it's own roots. By this time the landscapers "two year warranty" is expired, you have no idea who the nursery was, and chances are you wouldn't have asked an arborist why it died.
So you blissfully hire another landscaper to plant a replacement tree. Guess what? It's will get planted too deep!

 

[treeseer]

Markk, the earwigs are just hanging out in the dead bark that was killed by girdling. They are not the problem; why kill an innocent bystander? Measure the % circumference that is rotting; if it is not extensive then it may make sense to prune the worst of the girdling roots this fall.

By the look of the first picture tho recovery seems to be a longshot. once they're wrapped tightly into the trunk it takes a light hand on a hammer and chisel to get them off. See Buying High-Quality Trees and New Tree Planting under the link below.

Mike, what are your parameters for pruning girdling roots? Mine are in this protocol from this article:

the stranglehold its own roots put on the trunk, squeezing so hard it was stopping the circulation. I could see small roots lapping over buttress roots above the soil surface, so I swiftly solved that problem with my trusty loppers. It was time for a root collar examination, so I shoveled away some soil and found deeper roots wrapped around the trunk. That's where things got real interesting--the squeeze was the tightest on the same side as the dieback in the top. In past cases I’d seen that oak branches are nourished by the roots right below them--could it be that magnolias are also ring-porous?

Some books say that you can do more harm than good by removing big girdling roots. The tree needs roots for uptake, and it's hard not to wound the trunk while removing them, so they say it's best not to disturb them. First do no harm, as that Hip Greek said.
I took a page out of the pruning book, and figured that if I limited the dose of root pruning to 20% per visit I oughta be OK. First with chainsaw, then handsaw, hand pruners and finally with hammer and chisel I sliced out three root sections. My nerves were frazzled by the fear that I'd gouge the trunk, or the bark on the roots would be stuck to the bark on the trunk, but the root sections came off clean with a "pop!". I think I saw the trunk tissues gratefully swelling out as the circulation came back, The next problem was, how could I tell what percentage I just took off? Branches you can see, but with roots it's a guessing game. I decided to call it quits before attacking the biggest girdler.

My plan is to come back in late winter to aerate, inoculate, fertilize and mulch the soil, to stimulate root function out around the dripline. Then next fall I'll return with the weapons and cut away some of the worst misguided roots that are putting the squeeze on my client's assets. Each year I'll check to see that the roots don't get any funny ideas about growing back over the trunk. If they do, they're gonna get it good.