Please help diagnose what's wrong with this Maple tree

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
tcarney12

tcarney12

New Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Messages
2
Location
Columbus, Ohio
Hello,

Our maple tree (sugar maple, I think?) in our front yard is in bad shape for some unknown reason. We have been in the house for three years now, and each year it has been healthy and full of leaves. It started this spring doing just fine; however, about 5 weeks ago I noticed the leaves starting to brown and die, and it has progressively gotten worse over the past few weeks. The tree is located in Columbus, Ohio, and was planted before we bought the house (I'm guessing the tree is 5-6 years old). We have not had a particularly dry season. Also, the yard has an irrigation system so the tree gets plenty of water. The irrigation system runs every other day for 10 minutes on that zone. Can you tell from the photos what might be the problem? And if there is a solution? The photos were taken today (July 1, 2013). I would really would hate to lose this tree, so thank you for your help.
 
Raintree

Raintree

Penguins are tasty
. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Jun 3, 2012
Messages
4,032
Location
TN
I sound like a broken record on this board. 10 to 1 your tree has been improperly planted. Pull out the plants around the stump & start digging for the root flare. It is too deep & or root ball not untied.

Toodeep.jpg
 
tcarney12

tcarney12

New Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2013
Messages
2
Location
Columbus, Ohio
I sound like a broken record on this board. 10 to 1 your tree has been improperly planted. Pull out the plants around the stump & start digging for the root flare. It is too deep & or root ball not untied.

Thank you for the help. I will get my shovel out tomorrow and start digging. I'm glad to hear that the tree can be saved. How long will it take before I see signs of improvement if I do expose the root flare properly?
 
Raintree

Raintree

Penguins are tasty
. AS Supporting Member.
Joined
Jun 3, 2012
Messages
4,032
Location
TN
Thank you for the help. I will get my shovel out tomorrow and start digging. I'm glad to hear that the tree can be saved. How long will it take before I see signs of improvement if I do expose the root flare properly?

No one has stated your tree can be "saved". Ruling out possible planting issues is only the first step.
 

Latest posts

Top