Troubled Trident Maple

[Colt Carson]

I live in the Deep South, USA. All the natural trees have long been leafed out. My little one produced some soft green sprigs, but then never produced leaves. During the winter I repotted it… moving it to a smaller pot, so I had to reduce the roots quite a bit. This tree gets about 4.5 hours of full sun per day. In past years it produced vigorous leaves in the spring. I fear I may have over stressed my little tree. Is there hope of a recovery?

 

[Colt Carson]

This is the tree back during the winter, to show the size of the current pot.

 

[shohin_branches]

Can you get a better photo of the leaves that are trying to sprout? Hard to tell if it's a pest or an infection

 

[bwaynef]

The weird growth seems to be coming straight from the trunk while what appear to be healthy buds sit tight. That's bizarre. I'd separate this tree from the rest of the pack, and if its special to you, maybe contact your extension office and see about sending a sample to have it tested to identify any pathogens.

 

[leatherback]

sounds like you took off too many roots and it is taking offense. Keep out of wind and hot sun; rather, dappled shade or general, bright shade. Keep humid, not wet (no growth = hardly any water needs) and monitor.

 

[Colt Carson]

Can you get a better photo of the leaves that are trying to sprout? Hard to tell if it's a pest or an infection

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Looks like a second flush forming.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[namnhi]

All the dried up leave look like it has an extreme case of fungus. As DSD said, the second flush is forming... which is a good sign. Cool little tree. Hope it will make it.

 

[shohin_branches]

I'm thinking it's fungal too if none of your other plants have damage. Reduce water and keep it protected from cold and wind. Do you have a systemic fungicide?

 

[Jester217300]

It looks like pseudomonas or verticillium wilt. The black bark is an indicator. You can see signs in the winter picture around the big chops and that it has progressed significantly in the current picture. IMO the tree is already dead and I would toss it and sterilize the pot to prevent spread in your garden.

 

[deadcs]

I think the tree is sick. I don't know if it's fungus or something else.
it's a very cool tree. I hope it recovers.

 

[Dav4]

That looks like epicormic growth, where the tree is activating dormant buds beneath the trunk and main branches in response to a stressor. The inciting cause was likely the re-pot- either too much root removal (hard to do with a healthy Trident re-potted correctly at the right time of year), or the introduction of a pathogen- but there's no way to prove this shy of taking samples to the county extension office. Did you do a full soil change? I see moss on the surface surrounded by aggregate soil particles, so I'm thinking there's a disparity in soil types, perhaps. Anyway, your best bet here is to dial in husbandry- morning sun only, wind protection, and watch the soil moisture as this one won't be transpiring much until it starts to grow. Unfortunately, I don't feel a good outcome is likely here since the tree appears so weak.

 

[Colt Carson]

That looks like epicormic growth, where the tree is activating dormant buds beneath the trunk and main branches in response to a stressor. The inciting cause was likely the re-pot- either too much root removal (hard to do with a healthy Trident re-potted correctly at the right time of year), or the introduction of a pathogen- but there's no way to prove this shy of taking samples to the county extension office. Did you do a full soil change? I see moss on the surface surrounded by aggregate soil particles, so I'm thinking there's a disparity in soil types, perhaps. Anyway, your best bet here is to dial in husbandry- morning sun only, wind protection, and watch the soil moisture as this one won't be transpiring much until it starts to grow. Unfortunately, I don't feel a good outcome is likely here since the tree appears so weak.

Some of the previous soil remained at the core of the roots, but the majority of the soil was replaced when I trimmed the roots.

 

[Time Wizard]

Propiconazole might be worth a try