Hello all,
There is something odd happening to my 'Tsuma gaki' Japanese Maple. Many of the leaf petioles appear to be chewed midway between the stem and leaf. Aside from the damaged petioles, the plant is perfectly healthy.
Thanks for helping me!
Another pic
And it's not just one or two leaves, sadly
Are birds or squirrels standing on those branches?
Are you getting really strong winds?
I've never seen that before, so I could'nt be of much help to you.
If you have a 'tiny bug problem' I would just say mix a few drops of Dawn dishwashing liquid into about a pint of water and spray it on the leaves, branches and trunk. But I never seen the ends of branches break like that so much.
Only other thing I know is ... if Japanese Maples are in a sunny spot and get sun for many many hours it may need more frequent waterings.
Also... in late fall, and early winter, leaves will have to fall off of your Maple tree. And that happens by the leaves shriveling-up, turning brown and then breaking off of the very end of the branches. But not sure that is what is happening to your tree.
Thanks for responding, LoveForests.
Birds are a possibility, although this is the only of my trees that has this happening. I haven't noticed any large flocks congregating in that part of the garden ;) Squirrels are extremely unlikely as these are very young branches, and it would be quite a challenge for the critter to get to the leaves at the tips. (And I really wonder why a squirrel would?)
It's not a watering/sun issue. While this JM gets a lot of sun and reddens a bit in summer, it has sufficient water and has never lost leaves this way in the 5 years that it's lived here.
It's also not autumn leaf fall. The leaves haven't begun to show their fall color yet, and when they fall the whole petiole detaches from the branch without breaking in half. Plus, the leaves never curl and shrivel like that, even after having fallen on the ground in November.
But thanks for brainstorming!
Yep, I see what you're saying. I sure hope someone gets an answer for you soon :]
It looks like you a small canker in your 1st photo. They can be from a few things.
Normal freezing and thawing can cause small cracks in the branches.
Pseudomonas syringae can cause small black cankers.
http://japanesemaplediseases.blogspot.com/
Anthracnose can also cause cankers, but I dont see any others signs of that on your tree.
There isn't much sign of canker that I can find on the rest of the tree, thankfully. None of my JMs have shown the classic signs of Pseudomonas, but perhaps I should spray Copper Sulfate as a preventative measure?
I haven't seen any signs of Anthracnose, just Verticillium wilt (sob) on some, and a couple that I had to pull out because they were too far gone. I passed on a beautiful 'Omurayama' at my local nursery because it had suspicious streaking in the bark.
I showed these pics to an arborist who agreed that it is Maple Petiole Borer, even though it's so late in the season. We have had such bizarre weather this summer, so perhaps they got confused. I'm still dubious, but I'd far rather that be the problem.
Just my luck that I'd fall in love with a genus that's susceptible to so many fungi and bacteria!
I would not spray anything until you have confirmation of the problem, you can cause more damage this way.
I didn't see the classic signs of verticillium on your tree, but I could be wrong. If you have had verticillium on other JM's in your yard, it could likely be on other JM's as well. Maybe this is just the beginning stages, but I'm used to seeing larger portions of dieback that affect entire branches and not just the tips. I would take a hearty cutting and find and expert in your area and take it to them.
Either way, I would clean up all the leaf litter and dispose of it. If you do find that it is a borer or insect, I would treat using something systemic like bayers advanced tree and shrub care. (as long as it's not near where I would plant any edible/food items) if you go out and thoroughly inspect your tree, you may find the teensy weeny holes left by borers. They are super tiny, but if you look you can find them. You could also try inspecting the tiny cankers and see if there are any larvae or adult borers making in them.
Good luck.
