OK, lets see you guys answer this!

[greenloon]

OK, here is the scenerio......I have about 5 maple trees, all about the same age.....all about 15 feet apart in a straight line.....one of them is dying but has no visible injury or anything......It is in the exact same environment as the rest of them so it is very puzzling.....the picture is dark, but the leaves seem to be dying with a distinct pattern that I don't know if it is normal or not. If you can see the picture.....does it look like anthing specific or just dead leaves?

Thanks in advance!

 

[underwor]

The pattern looks like scorch, dying between the veins first. Usually caused when the tree is stressed for moisture. If in a row, and no others affected, it is most likely a root problem. Could be a girdling root, especially if on Norway maple. These are the best guesses from ND.

Bob

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

I second Bobs opinion. Another SWAG would be verticilium wilt.

One of the countries best tree companies is in NJ, named Alpine I believe. Owned by the Chisholm family. Can't remember the sict they are based in though.

 

[greenloon]

Hmmmm, sounds logical.......but what can I do? Can I save this poor tree somehow? I am having really bad luck with trees lately. We have had pretty severe draught around here so it could be a water problem.....but then why just that one? This would be so much easier if I hated trees......but I don't.

 

[Nickrosis]

Originally posted by greenloon
Hmmmm, sounds logical.......but what can I do? Can I save this poor tree somehow? I am having really bad luck with trees lately. We have had pretty severe draught around here so it could be a water problem.....but then why just that one?

It is a water problem.

The question is now what is causing that water problem. The leaves are drying out because the water is not getting to them in sufficient quantities. This could happen with perfectly moist soils in the case of Dutch Elm Disease - plenty of water, but no way to get it to the leaves.

To elaborate on what Mr. Underwood said, a girlding root could be cutting off the uptake of water. You can determine this by gently digging around the base of the tree's trunk with a trowel to see if you can find a root that is wrapping itself around the trunk or parts of it. Most likely it has at least some degree of girdling.

This looked really in depth: http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/naturalresources//DD7501.html

JPS may e-mail you his article about them, if he hasn't already.

Nickrosis

 

[Jay Banks]

I'll third Bob's comments. We tend to focus on the upper portions of trees, logical because we see it, but the majority of the "urban" tree problems are soils, girdling roots, compaction, etc.

 

[Stumper]

I'll agree with everyone else that this is likely a sub soil problem. One other possibility to throw into the mix. Bacterial Leaf scorch-a very common problem on Sycamores in the southwestern U.S. I don't know about occurrences in Maples but it has that look.

 

[Reed]

Moisture impediment yes, but the cause.......

Vascular inhibiting blockages whether tylosis response to viral or fungal presense or a cultural problem like root constriction, or injury to stem of some sort it takes a bit of open-mindedness to pinpoint.

Elimination of each one by one. But the first consideration is your time of year there in NJ. If it's not a early seasonal event, is only indicated in one of several proximity duplicates, you have the benefit of decline symptoms displaying before dormancy. Any vascular parasite inhibiting moisture flow will also take time off for the winter, buying time. I have to doubt that constriction of one of more central root will impair an entire canopy so you have to describe more in detail the effects. It's not unusual however that stresses as you decribe this last season would indicate in one tree while other's appear normal.

One factor to determine wilting effect as oppossed to Fall changes is the outflow of chlorophyll and pigments left behind - if it's not looking like the expected "Golden glow", rather, a crispy leftover void of pigment and moisture, you have apopsis occuring. If margins and tips retain flexibility I wouldn't go digging around for more clues. Odors you carefully detect when you break a stem could provide some more answers after a comparison to stems from the healthy tree. Veinal marks or staining in 1" dia. branches compared to similar tissue from the other trees, etc. Give us some more details. If scorch ends-up as the culprit, some fairly extreme measures should be taken immediately.

 

[tshanefreeman]

Even though it is already established...........I too agree with the prediction of water stress.

In my area, American Basswoods (Lindens if you prefer) will typically show similar 'browning' of their leaf margins when dealing with water stress.

Everyone else have provided predictions for what might be causing the symptoms. Something that hasn't been mentioned is the possibility that the soil structure could be slightly different in the row of trees, even though it looks uniform from eye's view. If the soil is more of a sandy composition around the maple exhibiting these characteristics, perhaps, the water that is available, is perculating/leaching away to become ground water faster than that of the surrounding trees. Thus making less water available to the tree. Secondly, if the tree in question is stressed due to an unknown outside factor (perhaps isolated soil compaction), the impact of the water stress would be more visible.

There are many environmental reason why your tree may be declining, but hopefully, everyone's combined efforts have cleared your mind ............. at least somewhat!

 

[greenloon]

WOW! You guys are really pulling together to help this poor tree out! I cannot thank you all enough! It is pouring rain right now (hopefully a good thing) and I just got in so it is pretty dark out. Tomorrow afternoon if the weather is a little nicer I will gather some more information and details to try and get this thing solved. I will get some closer pictures of leaves too......it is really odd the way they are drying out. Not quite like what I have seen with scorch, but that isn't saying much because I have only seen it on various websites. I will get the details and deliver them tomorrow! Again, you are all great!

 

[Reed]

yer welcome.

 

[treeclimber165]

You are absolutely right, these guys know their stuff! My comprehension of tree diseases and insects is rather rudimentary compared to many here, and I've worked in this field all my life. I've learned more here in the last year than the previous 5 years. If a problem can be diagnosed without a personal physical inspection, these guys can do it!
:angel: