Black color after cutting branch

[Berra]

Hello,

this year I cut back a few branches on a couple of Japanese maples. I dont remember if it was before the tree started growing or not.

Also I used only top jin instead of the white lid japanese cut paste.

I have not seen this black color when cutting branches before. Is it common die back /dead tissue or have I gotten a case of pseudosemona?

 

[Shibui]

Don't panic. Stubs will always die back to the next node or branch. The black bark just indicates dead wood. If the black bark turns up below a live section you have my permission to panic but that black on a dying stub looks perfectly normal to me.
Wound sealer will not prevent stubs like this dying. I would not even bother sealing small cuts like those.

 

[TrimmyWhimmy]

Yes, black at a cut tip = probably fine. Black in the middle of a branch = probably already dead.

 

[Berra]

Thanks. Maybe I just didn't keep stubs when pruning earlier years

 

[MGTT]

To @Shibui ’s point, this tree (twig) struggled all through last year (basically since I bought it). It leafed out in the spring but then slowly all the leaves started dying.

Having seen enough on the site, I wasn’t surprised to see the blackening of the bark at the base.

Fortunately I had moved it away from my other trees suspecting it wasn’t going to make it.

Japanese Maple