Maple Tree in poor shape!

tuftsy

Looked at tree today and searched bark removal and such.... positive tree is to far gone. Just want second opion ..to much bark cracking to remove.
Help
Peeled off some bark at bottom and a tone of bugs deep into tree.see pic

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tuftsy

Kitchener Ontario Canada if that helps and can take more pics right away if you need more. Thanks anyone for info.

tuftsy

Heres a few more before it gets dark...

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tuftsy

Anyone help?? Am i doing something wrong...or not worth even commenting on? Thanks

pcarborist

cable and brace.

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parkcityarborist

Brent Ferris

Could be wind damage, but think more likely to be drought stress. THe side of the tree nearest the building looks to have minimal uptake of water, creating problems thru the tree. Tree prob has some translocation ability, but white sap tends to minimize this effect. May be fixable - can't say without looking at it.

Pcarborist's advice has merit given the sharp angle between the two main stems. A local arborist should be able to give a decent opinion. If not, I could -- need travelling reimbursement,.

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tuftsy

Thanks for the info any more might help too keep it coming in meantiime wiil look up some arborists...to come have a peak thanks again.

Don Peters

I live in Nashua, New Hampshire, and have seen MANY maple trees that look like this. It appears to be a fungal disease that also affects the leaves, which have a dry appearance, and wrinkled surface, often with dead edges. This is NOT anthracnose! I've been studying this disease for about 5 years now. It also affects other shrubs and trees.

This disease has no official name, so I've taken to calling it "white canker", since the symptoms are caused by canker growth under the bark. This growth slowly strangles the tree, and will eventually kill it without treatment, although it will take 5 to 10 years to kill it, branch by branch.

Certain fungicides (e.g., Mancozeb, or Propiconazole) will control this disease (I found this out by trial and error).

For much more information on this disease, see my website which discusses it, at White Canker Tree and Shrub Disease .

Eric Frei

You've put a lot of work into that pathogen .... I really wonder WTF it is?

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Jeroen Shiran

This tree actually looks like lightning damage to me, but it's hard to say from a few pics. Could be Verticilium Wilt as well it resides in the soil and moves in when the tree is weak. I've seen Maples live with that for a while before succumbing to it. I removed one large Maple and saw previous signs of infections in the center of the tree when I cut a cross-section, then healthy wood and Vert. Wilt signs again when the tree died.

Don Peters

"looks like lightning damage"...
Usually a lightning strike would cause more severe damage, actually blowing, or exploding, the bark off the tree. In white canker fungal disease, that is not the case. Instead, the bark simply splits. The split is usually vertical, and a few feet long.

Alon's comment about Verticilium wilt reminded me of a Franklinia tree I had planted years ago. It appeared extremely healthy and had vigorous growth. I was astounded as to how well it was growing. Then, in a matter of weeks, it started wilting and finally died. After doing some research, I discovered that this tree is especially susceptable to this disease, and that there is no cure.

When a tree fails due to disease, I've learned that it's often very difficult to determine exactly what the disease is. I've have various experts visit my property to diagnose diseased trees and shrubs, and most often they mutter something like "it could be xxx... or maybe its yyy". Hence, I tend to look for a variety of specific symptoms. In the case of white canker, the best confirmation I've found is to slice a diseased twig off a branch with a razor, and then examine the cross-section under a 400x microscope. If it's indeed white canker, you can see the canker growing under the bark, and see it consuming the nutrient transport tissue, leaving voids and white cankerous fungal tissue behind. Then it becomes clear why the tree seems to be starving due to lack of water/nutrients.

Jeroen Shiran

Hey Don,

Lightning damage comes in all sorts of different ways. I have seen trees explode, like you say, but also mere surface cracks along the bark, where there is only a vertical split and the tree is actually fine. Then there is a lot in between. Some of the cracks in the pictures above look like possible lightning damage, but again it's hard to tell.

I mentioned Verticilium Wilt because I have seen similar Maples with cracks like these that died, and once cut down showed Verticilium Wilt. I wonder if your White Canker is an opportunistic fungus coming in as a secondary infection. Have you sent samples of the actual fungus to be identified? That could be a big help in determining if this is a new disease or a secondary fungus.

It's great to see that you are trying to get to the bottom of this, and I am sure your trees are grateful.