Help with Partial death
- Thread starter David P
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rockm
Spuds Moyogi
unfortunately this looks like verticillium wilt. It is a soil borne fungus that kills off sections of maples ( and other species). It is extremely tough to get rid of and once established in a tree it is mostly a goner.
The color of the limbs still on the tree are a clue. They’re yellowish and show some black spotting. That indicates the presence of some kind of internal vascular issue. Verticillium wilt fungus gets inside a trees vascular system and clogs the system up. That results in tissues in the other side of the blockage to die off. It can take a while for the tree to die completely but infected trees have only a couple of years before they’re nothing but stumps
Sorry not trying to be a bummer but Vert wilt is a bitch. It is also highly contagious so keep this tree away from others
The color of the limbs still on the tree are a clue. They’re yellowish and show some black spotting. That indicates the presence of some kind of internal vascular issue. Verticillium wilt fungus gets inside a trees vascular system and clogs the system up. That results in tissues in the other side of the blockage to die off. It can take a while for the tree to die completely but infected trees have only a couple of years before they’re nothing but stumps
Sorry not trying to be a bummer but Vert wilt is a bitch. It is also highly contagious so keep this tree away from others
River's Edge
Imperial Masterpiece
Based on the callus tissue on the edges of the dead portion, have you been trying to create a large shari on this tree?
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
I've seen partial dieback on JM for several reasons.
Sunburn: Bark suddenly exposed to summer sun can burn and die. Consider if this side may have been turned to face the sun last Summer. Consider whether some of those branches were pruned last Summer thus exposing that side to sun. Tree defoliated with that side facing Summer sun?
Excessive pruning. I note that there appears to be a row of pruning scars all along the dead patch. Major branches tend to be tied to roots below. If branches are suddenly removed then sap flow stops. bark and roots below no longer receive normal sap flow and can die. Were all those branches removed at the same time?
Infection: @rockm has mentioned veticillium but that's only one of the infections that can attack JM. Infections can get in through roots, especially in cold, wet soil. Can also enter through pruning wounds, especially when dirty tools are used.
Unfortunately it can be hard to pin down a cause because the symptoms only show up around 6 months to a year after the damage is done - unless you are really watching for early signs. It takes 6 months or more for the dead bark to start to come away from the dead wood underneath so the damage here occurred quite some time ago. Probably even longer than 6 months based on the developing callus around the edges of the wound.
Sunburn: Bark suddenly exposed to summer sun can burn and die. Consider if this side may have been turned to face the sun last Summer. Consider whether some of those branches were pruned last Summer thus exposing that side to sun. Tree defoliated with that side facing Summer sun?
Excessive pruning. I note that there appears to be a row of pruning scars all along the dead patch. Major branches tend to be tied to roots below. If branches are suddenly removed then sap flow stops. bark and roots below no longer receive normal sap flow and can die. Were all those branches removed at the same time?
Infection: @rockm has mentioned veticillium but that's only one of the infections that can attack JM. Infections can get in through roots, especially in cold, wet soil. Can also enter through pruning wounds, especially when dirty tools are used.
Unfortunately it can be hard to pin down a cause because the symptoms only show up around 6 months to a year after the damage is done - unless you are really watching for early signs. It takes 6 months or more for the dead bark to start to come away from the dead wood underneath so the damage here occurred quite some time ago. Probably even longer than 6 months based on the developing callus around the edges of the wound.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
When I look at this tree, this is what I would guess as well. I see a large pruning scar that wasn't sealed, and die-back all the way down the trunk. Note how there is no sign of healing callus on the lower margin of that top cut. It never started to heal.
To your list of possible causes I will add one more unusual one: animal damage. We have a landscape Japanese maple (Acer p. 'Emperor One') that got munched on by a critter. Given the amount of damage I assume a woodchuck, though I didn't see it in the act. There were noticeable tooth marks left on the side of the trunk. Good news is that the tree appears to be healing the rather substantial damage. I have not yet treated the deadwood with lime sulfur, but I will shortly.
Woocash
Omono
Yes, but how much wood did that woodchuck chuck?
bwaynef
Masterpiece
Verticilium wilt would've preceded all that outward dieback w/ flagging/wilting of the foliage. Also, its not known to be so well-behaved as to allow a tree to begin callusing around the damage. Once you have V. wilt, it tends to be pretty aggressive. V. wilt tends not to have much outward symptoms other than wilt. Cutting into the vascular tissue will show discoloration, but it doesn't show up outwardly.
Pseudomonas shows as blackening on the trunk/branches ...but I've never seen it affect one side of a tree/branch without the entire branch/tree succumbing to it.
I'd bet this was either physical damage, possibly rodent-induced, or sunburn. The callus indicates its recovering. I'd separate it just to make sure, and maybe even give it a broad-spectrum fungicide, then make sure it doesn't get too much sun and protect it from critters.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I’ve had vert wilt on an old Amur. Coloration showed much like that here. Dropped branches and sections of trunk over a few years.
Your right though this is probably from aggressive pruning/physical damage but I still wouldn’t discount an accompanying infection of some sort.
David P
Mame
I’m thinking I aggressively pruned it to late in the season and it did take in some extreme direct sunlight last summer. We had many days in the 100’s late summer here in So Cal and it was sitting out in the direct sun all season. It is callousing all up and down and around the long dead area. I noticed that when I peeled all the loose bark off which was mostly separated already form the dead wood. Before I took those pictures.
I know this will never be a show tree but if it doesn’t have verticillium wilt and it survives which to me the rest of the tree looks healthy again, what do you recommend I do to it? What fun project can I do with this poor thing? Should I try and carve out all the dead side back to some healthy tissue and turn it into a hollow trunk? Is that possible?
I know this will never be a show tree but if it doesn’t have verticillium wilt and it survives which to me the rest of the tree looks healthy again, what do you recommend I do to it? What fun project can I do with this poor thing? Should I try and carve out all the dead side back to some healthy tissue and turn it into a hollow trunk? Is that possible?
Shibui
Imperial Masterpiece
Dead wood on maples is traditionally not accepted but we seem to be moving past such constrained ideas. Dead and hollow trunk is definitely possible. I have several maples featuring hollow trunks and various dead wood features.
With enough growth, the trunk may heal right over the dead section so you do have the option to go for healing. It will take a few years. It will also take some growth so you'd probably need to cut back on pruning to allow some longer growth on the tree. You may also need to apply some wood preservative so the dead section doesn't rot away before the bark rolls over.
Carving is an option. As is allowing the dead wood to rot naturally then carve/scrape out the softer rotted wood. Option 2 takes longer but does not require as much skill or tools and tends to look more natural. Hollow trunk would probably need a change of front. hardly worth having a hollow trunk feature and hiding it behind the living trunk?
The tree seems very tall and skinny - both trunk and branch styling with short branches down low. Consider shortening the trunk to create a tree that appears more substantial. Shorter tree makes the same trunk appear to be much thicker. Not sure which branch I'd use as a new trunk line just from looking at the pics
With enough growth, the trunk may heal right over the dead section so you do have the option to go for healing. It will take a few years. It will also take some growth so you'd probably need to cut back on pruning to allow some longer growth on the tree. You may also need to apply some wood preservative so the dead section doesn't rot away before the bark rolls over.
Carving is an option. As is allowing the dead wood to rot naturally then carve/scrape out the softer rotted wood. Option 2 takes longer but does not require as much skill or tools and tends to look more natural. Hollow trunk would probably need a change of front. hardly worth having a hollow trunk feature and hiding it behind the living trunk?
The tree seems very tall and skinny - both trunk and branch styling with short branches down low. Consider shortening the trunk to create a tree that appears more substantial. Shorter tree makes the same trunk appear to be much thicker. Not sure which branch I'd use as a new trunk line just from looking at the pics
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
Never say never, but if that was my tree I would put it in the ground in an out of the way space, and forget about it. Let it heal or let it go.
Jrmcmich
Chumono
Wonder if you turned it into a raft tree laying it on its side and highlighted some of that deadwood? 
Cool progression project
Cool progression project
