bonsaiTALK Community - View Single Post - Japanese Maple, looks like burn marks

Unfortunately it does make sense. Japanese maples are prone to die back as a result of top wounds or in some cases viral infections. This is a sad condition and I feel for you.

You can lightly scrape the bark in the affected area, but if the texture is withered and the bark is brown or black, it doesn't bode well.

You can try to arrest the die back with a sharp knife by cutting back to live wood and treating the edge with a pruning sealant. The pathogens can be carried in the soil or from tree to tree by wounds created by tools or insects. Sometimes it's just in the soil. You'll be able to tell as you get closer to live cambium, the living wood color will change from dark brown to brown to yellow until you get to green cambium.

I lost about 6 field grown maples after being forced to relocate them a few years ago. It occurred 1 year later and just progressed from tree to tree. Very disheartening.

ALWAYS disinfect your tools before and after working on Japanese maple and pyracantha. You can use a little household bleach dissolved in water. Do a search on "bleach" here on bonsaiTALK and it will give you some ideas.

If the plant dies, throw the wood away or burn it and carefully disinfect the pot by soaking in a strong bleach solution.

20-Nov-2001	#2
TreeBay Tips:5¢ Advice:Free *MODERATOR GROUP* Join Date: Aug-2001 Location: Silicon Valley Country: USA USDA Zone: 9 AHS Heat Zone: 4 Posts: 9,745	Re: Japanese Maple, looks like burn marks Unfortunately it does make sense. Japanese maples are prone to die back as a result of top wounds or in some cases viral infections. This is a sad condition and I feel for you. You can lightly scrape the bark in the affected area, but if the texture is withered and the bark is brown or black, it doesn't bode well. You can try to arrest the die back with a sharp knife by cutting back to live wood and treating the edge with a pruning sealant. The pathogens can be carried in the soil or from tree to tree by wounds created by tools or insects. Sometimes it's just in the soil. You'll be able to tell as you get closer to live cambium, the living wood color will change from dark brown to brown to yellow until you get to green cambium. I lost about 6 field grown maples after being forced to relocate them a few years ago. It occurred 1 year later and just progressed from tree to tree. Very disheartening. ALWAYS disinfect your tools before and after working on Japanese maple and pyracantha. You can use a little household bleach dissolved in water. Do a search on "bleach" here on bonsaiTALK and it will give you some ideas. If the plant dies, throw the wood away or burn it and carefully disinfect the pot by soaking in a strong bleach solution. __________________ Want to be a seller on bonsaiAUCTIONS? Get authorized today! bonsaiTALK: Over 100,005.36 Megabytes Served this Month!