What's up with these trees?

nazarine

Hi all -
I'm a born and bred city girl and know squat about trees. We moved to central Indiana 2 years ago and I'm over my head with the trees in our backyard. Here are some details:

1) We are located in central Indiana.

2) I can't be sure because we are renting, but I guess these trees are 4-5 years old. It's a new neighborhood and this house was built in 1995.

3) I know they are Red Sunset Maples (not because I know what I'm talking about....there is still a tag on one of the branches. )

4) I noticed this greenish/grey growth on the tree about 2 months ago and now it's worked its way up the tree and the bark is splitting. Also, from the pic, you can see that the leaves aren't really coming in on the left side. I took several photos. I noticed the second tree looks affected too but not as far along. The tree in the front yard is also heading in the same direction.

5) Our landlord doesn't give a hoot about the lawn, landscaping and the trees so I'm trying to get a handle on it. Just when I got the lawn and landscaping done, I find this. So, please be patient with me - I'm a newbie.


I wanted to know what is affecting the tree and if it's something that can be treated. Also, is it a danger to my plants and veggie garden or isolated to trees?

Thank you for any help you can provide. I appreciate some direction!

nazarine

Arg. Pics are coming. Sorry....low on coffee today.

nazarine

Here are the pics

Attached Thumbnails

       

cte539

Nazarine
Not to worry about the 'white stuff'. It is lichen; an indicator of clean air.
Normally when you see die back in the crown, you would suspect a problem in the root. Maybe some sort of planting issue. Maybe a girdeling root.
You could get in touch with a good arborist and do a root coller excavation to investigate further. If the owner is not interested in the landscape, it is hard to invest $ to fix the problem.
Good luck
Paul

cte539

Sorry, did not mean white stuff.
I meant greenish grey stuff.
Paul

Garry Brockley

the cambium is breaking away due to the deadwood below, i would say the whole left side of the tree is dieing back and you will most probably lose the tree.
what did the green grey growth look like? was it a fungi? or a sap type substance? did it fall off or just disapear off the tree.

has there been any lawn treatments applied in the last six months?

__________________

TreeSpecialist

The lichen (a little symbiotic community of fungi and bacteria) are of no concern.

The die back may have been from freeze damage. If a tree goes into dormancy with very dry conditions, this frequently occurs.

The idea of it being root damage is another possibility. Girdling roots? - Don't think so. The immediate treatment is to remove the dead tissue back to the branch collars. Keep well watered, use a water soluable fertilizer once a month at 1/2 strength, and keep your fingers crossed.

__________________