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stu2900

Should I be concerned?

stu2900
9 years ago

Our red maple is showing it's fall color a bit early this year. Should I be concerned?

Comments (13)

  • StGuaposFire
    9 years ago

    I'm seeing the same thing on a few branches and the very tops of my trees here in Delaware, we've been having cool nights and I don't think it's all that unusual by mid-August. If it goes entirely red in the next few weeks I'd be more concerned.

    Is it the species or a certain cultivar? That may also have something to do with it.

    S

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    i would NOT be ...

    mother nature is variable ...

    of course.. hard to tell much of anything on an out of focus long distance pic ...

    i seem to think there was a recent article about the phenom ...

    ken

    ps: happens often in extended drought ... why not cooler than norm temps??? ... it is not a fert issue.. do not fert it ...

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    9 years ago

    Can ya post a pic of the base of the tree? I see something irregular there I think.

    If we find nothing it is probably something to be aware of but what can ya do. That is a large established tree. Watering would be a project.

  • stu2900
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    I will take a picture of the base next week whenI get back from a business trip. Thanks!

  • calliope
    9 years ago

    The trunk in the picture does not appear to the the same tree as the one exhibiting red foliage. I'm getting a few blushes on my sugar maple. Cool nights? Hah.......dog days of summer and temps dipping to fourteen degrees above freezing in Appalachia? It's bizarre this summer.

  • poaky1
    9 years ago

    I've always heard, they are one of the first to show color in the NE.

  • stu2900
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here is both sides of the base.

    {{gwi:424224}}

    {{gwi:424225}}

  • stu2900
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    The tree really doesn't look well.. The middle branches have lost most of their leaves already. I'm really sick about losing this tree. It's the main shade in our back yard.

  • Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
    9 years ago

    You have root flare and a pretty decent sized tree. I would be slightly concerned about it. There just is not soo much you can do. Fertilizer this time of year would just leave it vulnerable for winter with odd late growth. It likely is not the answer either.

    Do red maples grow well in your neighborhood? If there are not alot I would say a soil test would be worth the trouble. Also guess you could have a certified arborist or two come over.

  • famartin
    9 years ago

    Seems odd for sure, its way too early for that. Something is affecting it, especially if this is the first time its acted that way compared to previous years. Not sure if its necessarily fatal.

  • j0nd03
    9 years ago

    This could be a trick of the camera but this appears to be a stem gridling root to me. If it is, and it girdles as much trunk as it appears in the picture, it would account for early leaf drop and it will NOT get better. SGR's affect different trees different ways. It was probably just small enough in the past to not compress the trunk in a manner that significantly affected the tree. This year was a good growth year for many meaning both the trunk and that large SGR gained enough caliper to press on each other.

    Definitely have a certified arborist come out and have a look if you can. It sounds like a very important tree for you and your family.

  • viburnumvalley
    9 years ago

    I don't come to this forum too often, but good for j0nd03 for noticing what is painfully obvious - no camera tricks - in the pictures of the tree's base.

    That is one serious girdling root, and whether it is the sole reason for the early fall color or other appearances of general malaise, it is a death sentence for this tree if it goes unreconciled.

    Red Maple (Acer rubrum) should almost always be considered a candidate for girdling root problems as a landscape plant. As noted by others above, seek the counsel of a qualified arborist (one certified by ISA is a good start) to determine a course of treatment. Oftentimes, air excavation around the trunk will reveal the extent of the interaction of an expanding diameter root growing against the expanding diameter trunk and basal flare. Then, excision of the offending root can take place and relieve the conflict.

    Good luck with your efforts. A key tree in the landscape like yours is worth the investment in this type of professional care - versus the cost of removal of a dead/dying tree and the years lost waiting for a new specimen to grow in satisfactorily and replace the value you currently have.

  • bengz6westmd
    9 years ago

    Yup -- bad case of root-girdling. Pretty common for some maples.

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