Why do my maple leaves look waxy?

Stweed

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The leaves on both of my maples have a waxy look to them. Any thoughts on what this is or why it’s occurred? Thanks for the help!
 

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Shibui

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I also think this is powdery mildew which is a fungal problem associated with leaves staying too wet.
Fortunately it is close to the end of season so those leaves will all fall soon. Probably too late for any treatment to be of much benefit. Try to improve conditions next season.
 

Bnana

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Or you can not treat it and it will be solved as the leaves fall off.
In autumn the air becomes more moist and the tree start to invest less in the leaves. Therefore the leaves become more sensitive for mildew. It happens on wild trees as well and is completely harmless.

If it happens early in the growing season it is not a big issue either but not pretty. In that case it means that your tree should be in a less moist area, more wind and sun would solve it.
 

Stweed

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Thank you all for the info! Really helpful!
 

ShadyStump

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Here it's a summer problem.
Bright sun helps, and do your watering in the morning so things can dry out during the day.
Spraying with neem oil every two weeks as a preventative measure has been effective for my garden vegetables in the past, of which squash and gourds seem to be most susceptible to it.
Once it's hit a point of more than a spot or two on a leaf or two, though, there's no stopping it.
 

Bonsai Nut

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Agree with the above comments.

Dew + cooler daytime temps + less direct sun = wet leaves = mildew

However the trees should be shedding their leaves by now, so no great loss.
 

hinmo24t

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im close to CT and it is normal for when they go into dormancy from my experience , they wither out
 

ShadyStump

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Also prevents normal growth of tender new leaves😣.
I've not noticed this, but then I've only used it on the vegetable garden where I'm not really looking at individual leaf development, just overall health and productivity.

Still, adjusting watering and placement does as much or more good than neem oil. The object is to lower humidity, and get enough UV on the leaves to inhibit the fungus.
 
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