I have a specimen tree, probably 80’ tall, 10’ in diameter, 60+ years old, big leaf maple. It has had a less robust crown than some others I see and in the last couple of years one branch section died off. I’ve had two arborists out, one was merely a tree trimmer and wanted to cut down the deaf branches and said I should give it extra water in dry weeks. The other wants to inject fertilizer into the tree, about $15 per shot, every 6” around the base. He, too said to cut out the dead branch, but also said we could cut back the crown by about 1/3 to see if that helps the tree recover.
I am willing to do that if it will save the tree, but am concerned, too, about drilling all those holed into a stressed tree. It also seems quite pricey. And I hate to ruin the natural shape of the tree if it’s not necessary or won’t work.
I’ve been Googling, but not found much about the efficacy of injectable fertilizer. I’ve found some research saying n t to bother for leaf color, but this is more than just leaf cover. I’ve found lots of info about these trees being stressed and having issues in our area for the last 5-10 years, lots of culprits ruled out, but no real answers.
You can have fertilizer injected into the ground around the tree. We’ve had that done. I’m not sure how much good it did. We eventually lost the trees anyway. (Their root system was significantly damaged by road construction.) But I’d opt for that if you are concerned.
Trimming away the dead stuff is a good idea. Cutting away 30% of the crown seems bizarre. Trees need the crown to live. It’s not like it is a shrub or a houseplant where you can easily supply missing water and nutrients.
I shy away from anything that provides entry for borers and the like. Holes every 6" sounds like a recipe for disaster.
My neighbor had an old white oak. I think it was dying of old age. It was old and we lost a few similarly aged white oaks in the last few years in the neighborhood. A tree company suggested trim and injection. It hastened the fate fast. It was dead within a few weeks of injection. I also have an oak that seems to struggle and would love to help to restore its health. But not injecting anything at the moment.
All of the sugar maples in my area are slowly dying. It starts with the crown. Apparently it’s some kind of virus. I don’t know what kind of maple you have, but the symptoms sound similar.
Identification: Because the fungus infects the tree from the inside, it can be difficult to notice symptoms right away. Initial symptoms include small leaves. The small leaves can become branch dieback in subsequent years. Branch dieback will most likely appear at the top, or crown, of the tree first. The trunk’s wood will look tea-stained.
Caused By: A fungus called Ceratocystis virescens
Season: Late spring and early summer
Susceptible Species: Sugar bushes, especially the sugar maple where logging activities are present
Treatment: The main way to treat this is preventing the tree’s roots from getting damaged, as this is how the fungus usually enters the tree. Damage could mean anything from an insect infestation weakening the tree to a car driving over the roots and wounding them. Some trees go into remission and recover without any treatment for unknown reasons. Some trees go into remission and then exhibit symptoms all over again. You may have to remove a tree that’s infected.
Threat LeveL " Sapstreak is a ground-living fungus that generally enters the tree’s system via an injury near the roots or bottom portion of the tree. The fungus then inches upwards from the root system and infects the trunk of the tree. As time goes on, the fungus eventually affects the outward portions of the tree, such as the branches and leaves.
Sometimes sapstreak means a slow death for the tree, over a period of many years. Other times, a tree can succumb in as little as two or three years. In a report by the USDA tracking sapstreak in sugar maples, they note that “[s]ometimes disease progression . . . is arrested and recovery ensues, even in trees with more than 40 percent crown dieback.” So this infection isn’t necessarily a death sentence.l: Severe (the fungus damages the tree’s innards, and generally containing the disease means removing the tree)
I’m a forester, but dealing with ornamental/landscape trees is outside the scope of my knowledge. However, if you can tell me the state you live in, I could research some other sources of help for you. Some state universities have forestry extension agents that can give assistance to people with tree questions. A horticultural extension agent would be even better.
I’m guessing you might be in Oregon or nearby? If that’s the case, here’s a link to the OSU extension office. If you scroll down the page, you’ll find an “Ask the expert” section. Hopefully one of their tree/horticultural experts can help you.
You can also search the extension staff by area of expertise (by county). On the following link, go to the search for people section, then filter by program and you can see the people that are in charge of the master gardening programs in each county. There are also experts in lots of other fields if you want to scroll down the list of staff and faculty. Their names and email addresses are listed.
I’d just submit the question to the “Ask the expert” section on the OSU website first though, just because it seems easier and you might get the answer quickly. Or find a horticulturist on the OSU people link.
The WSU extension page doesn’t seem to be so user friendly.
I did some research today and found out that it’s most likely suffering from big leaf maple decline, which, as somemom mentioned, is affecting the species throughout the northwest. Tree people having been doing research for the past few years, and have ruled some things out, but still haven’t determined the cause.
One article recommended that owners do nothing except for infrequent deep watering.
No suckers. I would like to support it’d recovery however I can, but I also don’t want to try everything suggested and end up harming it. I did put a soaker hose across the width of the crown last summer and deep watered to support it on rain free weeks.
Wow, that is really cool. I vote to leave it as is! Maples are very resilient trees. They may not look pretty, but they will live on even ugly looking…
We have one ugly maple that birds adore. Hummingbirds, chickadees, jays, all sort of birds use it as a perch. Mr. wanted to take it down because it is soooo ugly but decided that we can tolerate it because of the birds.
