JM Help

[DWreck]

Two of my japanese maples have a bunch of buds that are covered in this dark, tacky sap. Not all of the buds have this but I am concerned. Has anyone seen this and what can I do to stop/prevent it from spreading?

 

[sorce]

Looks like someone cleaned their hitter on your branch!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[Forsoothe!]

If you go to the upper right hand corner and click on your Icon, you can add your location and people will be able to customize advice for you.







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[sorce]

Unless you are holding your phone vertically, then it's unseen.

Sorce

 

[DWreck]

I just looked over the rest of my maples and found another one with the same thing and this one also has black forming on the trunk. I might treat them with phyton 27. Has anyone had luck in a similar situation or should I expect them to be goners...

 

[SC1989]

A couple of mine have bled like that when temps are warming up. Think it’s just from cold damage. It leafed fine last year. The black on trunk or branches .... well that’s not good. Bacterial infections from cold damage . If you live in a colder area( Wisconsin) don’t prune maples in the fall. Unhealed cuts are more susceptible to nasties especially in zone 3 and 4.

 

[AlainK]

this one also has black forming on the trunk

To me, this looks like a bacterial attack, like Pseudomonas. If you rub it with alcohol then apply copper-based treatment, it should be OK.

this dark, tacky sap

Maybe a different disease. If there are already critters around, it could be sooty mold. But at the beginning of March in Wisconsin ?

It's more difficult to clean a whole plant than just a portion of the trunk, but once again, in doubt I think the best thing would be Bordeaux mix or the like.

 

[AlainK]

don’t prune maples in the fall

... or if you do, apply some fungicide and cut paste. If you prune in late winter/early spring, do the same : a lot of diseases spread in the spring when the temps are cool but there's a lot of humidity in the air. Snow carries a lot of nasty things, when it melts, better treat your trees.

Maples heal better when pruned in late winter/early spring, and even better after the first flush of growth (late May/mid-June here).

 

[DWreck]

These have been kept all winter in my attached garage that is insulated. It stays just above freezing most of the time but a few weeks ago it was extremely cold outside and I noticed that the soil became frozen during that time. I'm hoping that it's just cold damage on the two. The one with the black trunk was trimmed back in the fall just to be able to fit it in the garage with the rest of my maples. I have avoided doing so in the past but gave it a shot last fall.

 

[AlainK]

I understand it's much more difficult to keep potted maples in areas where the soil freezes for days, or even weeks.

If you have a garage, you must have a garden ? Perhaps you could make a sort of cold frame against a wall, slightly buried with some canvas on top : maples, even when potted, can take a few days (reasonably) below zero, esp. if they can be above during the day. Outside, they can get "fresh air"...

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

In the future, if possible keep a small fan running in the immediate area of the wintering trees. A light breeze keeping the air moving will prevent bacterial and fungal issues from developing over winter. Air movement will also minimize cold spots. You will have better root health too.

As to the current problem, Phyton 27 is one brand name for a quaternary ammoniacal surfactant with copper complexed into it. Tablespoon per gallon is a typical dose rate (15ml / 4 liters) the solution will kill bacteria and fungi, without harming the maples.

 

[DWreck]

I applied the Phyton 27 earlier this afternoon mixed at 1 teespoon per gallon which is what I had written down on the bottle from a previous use. Should I reapply it at 1tablespoon per gallon? I added a fan by the trees too.