Here are a few pictures of the hard maple in my backyard. It's obviously not doing well. I guess I have two questions: Does anyone know what is wrong with my tree? Does anyone have suggestions on what I can do to help it out? Thanks very much for your help!
Hello, From what I can see in your photographs a very large branch was removed from your tree. It looks as though it may have been removed a number of years ago as their is callus (tissue that develops on or around an injured or cut plant surface) forming around the edges of the wound. It looks as though decay is spreading in your tree due to the large wound. Plants have an amazing ability to prevent decay from spreading a great deal. If you are interested use your search engine to look up CODIT (the compartmentalization of decay in trees), a concept developed by Dr. Alex Shigo. However, if the wound is too large decay will inevitably spread. It also looks as though the canopy of the tree is thinning on the same side that the cut was made. This is because the tissues which carry water and nutrients to that part of the tree are no longer functioning. The damage appears to be severe. I am not sure that there is anything that you can do to save your tree. Raakel
You should call a 'tree doctor' (arborist), because it's needs to be seen and any insects identified.
First of all, I want to thank those who have replied. I sincerely appreciate your comments. It's definitely possible the decay was caused by the removal of the large branch. But my non expert opinion seemed to lean more towards some kind of insect. You can see some of the holes that have been bored into the side of the tree in the attached pictures. Also, a large healthy soft maple was recently removed from the area. The soft maple was probably 15 feet away and deprived the hard maple of a majority of it's direct sunlight. I don't think the sunlight deprivation had a direct impact on the hard maple, but it could have contributed to it's sickness. Thanks!
Hello, It is true that it is difficult to provide a proper diagnosis by simply looking at photographs. It is also difficult to tell which came first, the decay or the insect. Have a look at this link As it indicates many wood boring insects are attracted to dead or dying plants. It is possible that the insects invaded after the tree began to decay. Have a look to see if the holes caused by the insects are localized to the area near the pruning cut. Raakel
