Maple tree blooming but blooms dying off

vasso 101

Hello People.. this is my first post ever on this site and I am looking for some help with my maple tree. I live in northern MA and have a few maples on the property. One Maple in particular was the victim of crankworms or beatle Larve (same thing I believe) last year. The tree was all but defoliated but managed to bounce back later in the summer.. This year the tree bloomed but the blooms are starting to wilt and die off before the flowers actually turn into leaves... Any help would be much appreciated.. I would hate to loose the tree.

Eric Frei

Vasso

The pests you mentioned are what we call secondary predators taking advantage of a declining tree.

For instance, a vigourous healthy tree defends borers by flooding them out with sap, in effect drowning them.

So, what we know is the tree's not healthy, if new growth is wilting off perhaps no water or a damaged root system etc.

Hard to tell exactly, can you get some pictures.

The root system of a tree extends well beyond the drip line, roots go out more so than go down. So take a look at what's around this tree, lawn, building, new driveway or structure etc?

Also, by using the process of elimination the same as when a mechanic looks at your car when it wont start lets look at a few basics.

1/ Soil PH, test the soil PH in various locations around the tree, this is cheap and easy to do.

2/ Around the base fo the tree carefully (with hand trowel and hose) remove soil etc to see the root crown and trunk flare ... pull back maybe 2' all around and look for decay, fungal fruiting bodies etc.

3/ A drainage test, dig a few small holes around the tree, maybe only 6" deep and only as big as a bean can etc. Fill the hole with around 250ml of water and time how fast it disappears ... in a heavy clay it will take ages in a sandy soil it'll be gone as soon as you pour it.

So, let us know what the results are. But from experience I can comfortably say that most of the time it comes down to topographical factors so mulch, soil treatment and water usually solve the problem.

What has the weather and rainfall been like compared to usual and by the way ... how big is this tree, dia, height and spread?

__________________

Sean Freeman

Hi Vasso, as Ekka has said it would not normally be a serious problem for a healthy maple to cope with even repeated defoliation, tiiming of when the tree does lose its leaves is relevant as is the age of the tree is also important in judging just how well it can survive the loss of energy producing leaves, precisely at the time when the rest of its biology is gearing up for new flush of growth.

In addition to Ekka's questions can you tell us what sort of maple it is, and how many of your other trees are (if any) affected by the same insect pest. (Photos of the little critters would be good too but not essential)

osb_mail

I am not sure where are from but around here tree buds opened and then we got a deep freeze so that could be another factor to consider . Also flowers dont turn into leaves ,they do produce seed .

vasso 101

Hey, thanks for the info.. you have all been a great help. I am going to first determine what kind of maple it is and than I will get a test kit and evaluate that soil. The tree has actaully sprouted leaves since I posted this message but I'm not fully convinced that the tree is in good health. I may even ask an arborist to swing by and take a look as well. Thanks a gain an I will keep you all posted....

MonsonMaple

Happening to ME NOW. how has it been??

MonsonMaple

SO Heres my tree leafed out last year late NONE this year.

Attached Thumbnails

   

treeshaveneeds

Were the leaves last year smaller than expected? It looks like it had flowers but not seeds, set new buds but lacked sufficient energy or water to open this spring. Was the grade changed? New digging in the root area? Driveway, walkway changed. As a rough rule of thumb, the roots extend about 3ft out for inch diameter -- so if this tree is 16" diameter, figure about 50 ft in all directions. So what happened in that circle last year? Pesticide spraying?

MonsonMaple

No Pesticides.... 2 years ago, neighbor across street had water line dug in, in street 15 ft away. I believe more that nearby highway rain runoff is directed over root core due to blocked drainage pipes on highway. I am asking them to fix or I will did my own canal of diversion. Road runoff has winter salt.....

Ironicly to all those who have told me, its dead - get over it. This tree is on our senior center's property. I believe the oldest of our world deserve at lease an attempt at revival. Otherwise a senior center is also unnecessary

Attached Thumbnails

 

Eric Frei

I cant make out those orange coloured things on the buttresses, what are they?

I hope they aint fungal fruiting bodies.

Salt will stuff the soil up. You could do some pH and salinity checks.

__________________

treeshaveneeds

Just because the tree is dying/dead doesn't mean the senior centre is unnecessary. The two are unrelated in this way.
The roots in the picture suggest all the roots only grow in one direction from the trunk, that the roots towards the road don't exist. And at least one of the roots appears to have rot, or damage to it. If last winter had a lot of snow, and consequently a lot of salt runoff and salt spray, maples (the bark makes this tree look like a Sugar Maple) - esp Sugar Maple do not tolerate salt well. The pics posted really look like the flowers came out, and died. And the tree had no energy to open the leaf buds. Sorry,

Shop for a new tree to replace this one, one that will be more salt resistant. Sometimes the trees that resist salt best are considered by many to be weed-like species eg Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo) or Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) or Buckthorn (Rhamnus sp)
I am sure other members can suggest other species.