Sharps Pygmy advice

Coach

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Bad news: It looks like I've lost 90% of this tree. I think it's root rot from keeping it too moist this winter.

Good news: a branch is still alive :)

Sucks because I was just getting the image of this tree moving in the direction I wanted...life goes on

I'm ready to chop down to the living branch now (nothing above that branch passes the scratch test).

Is chopping now the right thing to do?

Am I an emergency situation like if I don't chop now I will lose the living branch too?

Any other advice?

Thank you
 

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j evans

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Sorry to hear this. It is always hard to loose a tree that you have put so much work into. At least you still have something to work with, if you wish. I don't know about chopping, I would guess it wouldn't make any difference but yes I have been wrong before.
 

MACH5

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Oh no! Sorry to hear coach. :( How long since you noticed? Or was this sudden?

I do not like this either.
 

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Coach

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Oh no! Sorry to hear coach. :( How long since you noticed? Or was this sudden?

I do not like this either.

Living branch emerged from dormancy about 15 days ago. I noticed then that we were in trouble. Started scratching all around and not getting much green...held out hope for the last few weeks but the dormant buds are all dry and the branches are beginning to wrinkle.

This weird winter got me...very warm for long periods of winter months this year and I over compensated. I really think I just watered too much.

That portion of the trunk you circled is dying I'm sure, rotting more likely...the lifeline is on the reverse and remains green leading to the live branch.

At this point I'm pretty much over the pain of losing so much of the tree...I just don't know if the tree can handle a hack down or not...it may be the only move that could save it???...I'm stuck on making the call...my gut says chop
 

MACH5

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My instinct tells me that I would cut back but leaving short stumps of the dead parts but not cutting all the way to healthy tissue. Not just yet. I would wait and see what the tree does. The dead parts will not necessarily kill the remaining live branch if the problem is root rot and not a bacterial disease like pseudomonas syringae.
 

j evans

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Discoloration on the trunk I think is the most concerning thing, why has that happened?
 

music~maker

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Chopping a sick tree can be an easy recipe for a dead tree.

Best thing to do is leave it alone and see how it wakes up. Once it gets going again, you can always prune off the dead stuff. There's no real advantage to cutting at it any time soon. The one thing I might consider is slip-potting it into a larger pot. That's my go-to solution for things that are suffering, and it seems to be a pretty good fix for a lot of problems. Just don't mess with the roots to much if you do it. I'll often gently comb the perimeter of the root ball, but I do mean gently. Don't prune anything. You can always take a closer look at the root ball next year.

I'd probably let that live branch run all season to strengthen the tree up. At the very least, I'd let it go until early-mid summer, and if I pruned anything, it would just be to shorten the growing tips a bit to encourage fuller growth vs. just thickening the branch. Totally depends on how things go. It's likely that you'll get a back-budding reaction during the growing season and you may start getting new branches by the end of the season, and the likelihood will probably increase if you let that branch do its job.

That spot in the middle looks like a graft point to me. If it is, I guess worst case, if you don't like how it develops from here, maybe you could get it growing strongly and then chop back to the root stock. It's almost certainly standard acer, and those are also fun to work on. You could probably re-grow a decent trunk from the base you have. It sucks to chop off the fancier cultivar, but sometimes it's better than nothing. If you do go that route, I'd probably let it recover for at least a couple of seasons to make sure it's healthy again. Unfortunately, this just turned into a pretty long-term project.
 

Coach

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Chopping a sick tree can be an easy recipe for a dead tree.

Best thing to do is leave it alone and see how it wakes up. Once it gets going again, you can always prune off the dead stuff. There's no real advantage to cutting at it any time soon. The one thing I might consider is slip-potting it into a larger pot. That's my go-to solution for things that are suffering, and it seems to be a pretty good fix for a lot of problems. Just don't mess with the roots to much if you do it. I'll often gently comb the perimeter of the root ball, but I do mean gently. Don't prune anything. You can always take a closer look at the root ball next year.

I'd probably let that live branch run all season to strengthen the tree up. At the very least, I'd let it go until early-mid summer, and if I pruned anything, it would just be to shorten the growing tips a bit to encourage fuller growth vs. just thickening the branch. Totally depends on how things go. It's likely that you'll get a back-budding reaction during the growing season and you may start getting new branches by the end of the season, and the likelihood will probably increase if you let that branch do its job.

That spot in the middle looks like a graft point to me. If it is, I guess worst case, if you don't like how it develops from here, maybe you could get it growing strongly and then chop back to the root stock. It's almost certainly standard acer, and those are also fun to work on. You could probably re-grow a decent trunk from the base you have. It sucks to chop off the fancier cultivar, but sometimes it's better than nothing. If you do go that route, I'd probably let it recover for at least a couple of seasons to make sure it's healthy again. Unfortunately, this just turned into a pretty long-term project.
I appreciate your detailed response...thank you. If it isn't reducing the likelihood of survival to keep the tree intact I have no problem leaving it alone while it strengthens. Don't mind slipping it into a "nursing" pot either.
 

Adair M

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What is your soil made of? It looks pretty good. If it's open and well draining, watering wouldn't do that. If it's old and clogged up, it could.
 

Coach

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What is your soil made of? It looks pretty good. If it's open and well draining, watering wouldn't do that. If it's old and clogged up, it could.

100% inorganic, very open

I've had the tree for 3 winters. The first 2 were normal and I only watered about every 3rd day. This winter was wild. Multiple 80 degree spurts in Dec, Jan and Feb. I found myself watering almost as if it were summer trying to keep up. I had a Hinoki give up on me as well (also 100% inorganic)

15 degrees was our coldest day and I brought the maple into my garage for that day as a precautionary measure

I was sure I drowned them both but you don't think so? Some other disease?
 

parhamr

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That black trunk seems reminiscent of verticillium wilt. Treatment for that requires discarding the entire tree and soil, never placing vulnerable species (e.g. maples) into the same pot or location, and cleaning tools and work surfaces with strong disinfectants.
 

0soyoung

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This is the time for verticillium, though --> temps generally below 70F. Verticillium goes dormant at higher temperatures.

It's effect is to clog the xylem, so usually one sees an entry wound and death above that. It also usually happens that leaves emerge on the affected branch and then droop and quickly desiccate. Again, early spring when it is cool.

I had a beni hime that died in a somewhat similar fashion as Coach's tree. I documented it in a thread (2014, I think - but I cannot seem to find it yet), showing that it had some issue that resulted in a pinch off of the xylem just above the graft. There was an old issue with roots that I had not noted when I bought the tree. Unlike Coach's tree, its growth was weak the previous year.

The thing of having one living branch and all else looks dead leads me to suspect the same as @Coach --> massive root death this spring. As others suggested, I think Coach should wait and see for now. But, if this last branch also dies, @Coach should share an autopsy with us (root condition around the tree, cross-sections, etc.). It will be highly enlightening.
 

Coach

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This is the time for verticillium, though --> temps generally below 70F. Verticillium goes dormant at higher temperatures.

It's effect is to clog the xylem, so usually one sees an entry wound and death above that. It also usually happens that leaves emerge on the affected branch and then droop and quickly desiccate. Again, early spring when it is cool.

I had a beni hime that died in a somewhat similar fashion as Coach's tree. I documented it in a thread (2014, I think - but I cannot seem to find it yet), showing that it had some issue that resulted in a pinch off of the xylem just above the graft. There was an old issue with roots that I had not noted when I bought the tree. Unlike Coach's tree, its growth was weak the previous year.

The thing of having one living branch and all else looks dead leads me to suspect the same as @Coach --> massive root death this spring. As others suggested, I think Coach should wait and see for now. But, if this last branch also dies, @Coach should share an autopsy with us (root condition around the tree, cross-sections, etc.). It will be highly enlightening.

Thank you @osoyoung...and everyone on this thread for their insight and time...I'm humbled

If the tree goes I will provide an autopsy (on this thread)...it is the least I can do in return for the support and suggestions y'all have provided

BUT I'm planning to develop a nicely tapered shohin maple with that base and branch ;) which I will also update on this thread
 

Eric Group

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Where did you keep it over winter?

Verticulum wilt typically infects the tree by splashing water/ dirt from the soil up into low branches and cut sites... or so they say... I am sure there many ways that it gets in.

Unfortunately... you do not typically see dead trunk like with a tree living above it... what foliage does emerge typically dies eventually.
 

MACH5

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I am thinking of the not uncommon bacterial infection pseudomonas syringae, which is treatable as long as it's caught in time.
 

Coach

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Where did you keep it over winter?

Verticulum wilt typically infects the tree by splashing water/ dirt from the soil up into low branches and cut sites... or so they say... I am sure there many ways that it gets in.

Unfortunately... you do not typically see dead trunk like with a tree living above it... what foliage does emerge typically dies eventually.
It was kept about a foot above ground on some stones. Not too excited about your prognosis :(
 
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