One of three limbs/trunks died on my japanese maple.

Discussion in 'Maples' started by hotfix, Jul 18, 2008.

  1. hotfix

    hotfix Member

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    Out the blue one of the limbs/trunks on my japanese maple seemed to die during spring of this year. I have had two arborists out to take a look at it and one says the tree was infected by bark beetles, and the other says no in fact the root system was affected.

    The root system theory seems harder to believe, because I would imagine more than just a single limb/trunk would be affected. Then again when I looked long and hard a few months ago, I so no holes or anything in the tree that looked like bugs might have gotten into it.

    Today I started to cut the dead limbs off (that's the one thing both arborists agreed upon), and I found a surprise waiting in side. I am including two photos of what I found inside. Now the only question I have is are those bark beetles, or are those termites (that would have moved in after the limb died).

    Can anyone tell me what those bugs are?
    And which theory sounds correct as to why 1 out of 3 limbs/trunks growing leaves during spring would just up and die?
    Lastly is the tree a goner even though the other limbs/trunks seem to be doing just fine?
     

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  2. Kaitain4

    Kaitain4 Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Say hello to your friendly neighborhood termite colony!

    I would say the termites are secondary to the problem. There is a disease called Verticillium Wilt (VW) that can kill a tree one limb at a time. It clogs up the little tubes that carry food up and down the trunk and branches. The evidence is said to be black streaks in the layers of wood near the bark. Some trees can actually "isolate" the infection and survive, although they will always be infected. Evidently this stuff is really nasty and stays in the soil for decades, so if it is a disease like that, they recommend the tree be cut down, dug up (roots and all) and burned. And you could never have a Japanese Maple (or other succeptible species) in that spot again.

    Here's how to check for Verticillium from another thread:

    VW enters a plant through broken/cut roots. If you still have the dead maple, remove a good sized limb and split the limb down the center vertically. If you note a dark green to black line running down the center of the branch this is a sign of VW. Check more than one branch and it wouldn't hurt to also split the trunk apart to see how that looks. The discolored 'line' does not always appear on every branch even though the tree is infected with Verticillium wilt.
     
  3. hotfix

    hotfix Member

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    Thank you for confirming those were termites. :) I don't think I had bark beetles like the one "arborist" suggested. I think the Verticillium would better match the second arborist's description of a "root issue".

    So for we have only attempted to cut the dead limb/trunk out since the other 2 seem to be doing ok. I did not notice anything unusual in the wood that I couldn't directly attribute to the termites.

    So besides performing an autopsy on the rest of the tree (that still appears to be alive), would there be something else to look for to try and determine what happened/is happening?

    Thanks very much for your reply!
     
  4. Kaitain4

    Kaitain4 Well-Known Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Aside from doing a post-mortem on the dead part, I guess its a wait-and-see proposition. I would seal up the stump with wound sealant, since you do have an insect problem. And I would apply the appropriate chemicals for borers, just in case they started this whole mess! Termites only invade dead wood, so if it wasn't a disease, then I would suspect borers. The termites came along after the fact to clean up the scraps!

    Regards,
     

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