Japanese Maple, looks like burn marks

kennedy1209

Ok Doc,
I have a japanese Maple and it I repotted it in the fall and I shouldn't have(I mentioned it on the old site) But now at the top of the limbs it looks like the tree has been burned and it keeps moving downward. If this makes no sense then I will try and post a pic of it. But I was getting a little worried about it. Whatcha think?

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TreeBay

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.

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kennedy1209

Thank you sir....I will try cutting it back and we shall see what happens. Thanks for your help....I don't know if this makes a difference but after the dark parts (near the top) the wood appears that it has turned into dead wood. I think it sounds like a disease of some sort...Is there no treatment I can give to the soil to help get rid of it? thanks again

kennedy1209

Here is a pi of the maple and I also have a question about the juniper. The leaves are all drying out. I keep it outside, I water it everythird day or so(when the soil is drying out) It gets about a half a day of sunlight. Any help on either would be greart.

kennedy1209

the other two pics.