# maple tree leaf splotching & a theory



## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Hi, got a maple tree (the kind with red stems), it's about 25 feet tall and about 7 years old. It was doing fine until I installed a canal beside my railway tracks in the backyard. The leaves have brown splotching and have curled up; nearly all leaves affected. About 30 feet away is another maple, similar size and age, that's doing fine.

The runoff from the canal (during rains) goes to an area near the trunck.


I'm taking a wild guess here, but since the canal and concrete are new, I'm thinking that lime is leaching into the roots and that I should increase acidity, maybe with vinegar?
Any suggestions highly appreciated.Dave V


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## lvmosher (Jan 2, 2008)

Did you upset any surface roots?.. that usually is a no no and the tree could be suffering from that. We take down lots of trees that die off because of root damage. But....usually one side of the tree is affected more when digging is just on one side.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

how deep is the canal?
I agree with Larry, its more likely to be root damage than lime..


this version of tree roots, that we probably all remember from grade school:


http://www.horsforth.leeds.sch.uk/s...s3_sc1.jpg
is a bit of a myth..
roots travel *just* under the surface a lot more than people think they do..
a trench only a foot or two deep could sever a lot of important roots..

tree roots are actually more like this:

http://www.loedonlandscape.com/images/tree_canopy.gif

do you remember cutting through many large-ish roots while digging the canal?

Scot


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## Gary Armitstead (Jan 2, 2008)

Sounds like root damage to me. We had this happen to one of our ash trees in the backyard about fifteen years ago, but it recovered These trees were mature trees at the time-probably thirty to forty years old at that time.


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

Hi, I didn't dig down, the canal runs atop ground level. It is about 12 inches wide and 10 inches tall, made of concrete. 

The photos are all in the construction phase (it's finished now) so it looks crappy when they were taken. The canal is about a month or so old now. 

photo one shows the tree (the tree is healthy as it's still construction phase when photos taken); tree is center far right 

photo 2 shows closeup of tree, about 15 inches from the canal 

photo 3 shows the tree far right center (same as photo 1) 

The entire maze of canals empties (when too much rain) in the triangle shaped containment pool in the lower part of photo #2. The tree's root system extends below the photo in a radial area for quite a distance. 

Dave V


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

hmmm..well that is odd.. 
it doesnt seem as though the run-off water would harm the tree.. 

another question: 
did your construction of the canal (or the garden RR in general this year) involve much fill dirt around the area of the tree? 
did you add some fill dirt around the tree that might have "buried" the roots deeper than they were originally? 
or is there is now ground area that is covered by bricks or stones, that was originally bare dirt or grass? 
that can cause some suffocation of the roots.. 

Scot


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

no; another possibility is that all this is completely unrelated; thanks, tho; plenty of root breathing area


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## Jerry Barnes (Jan 2, 2008)

Our maple needed more iron, might look into that. I took a leaf to the county extension agent, she knew what the problem was right away.


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## Madman (Jan 5, 2008)

Posted By Jerry Barnes on 23 Aug 2010 09:54 PM 
Our maple needed more iron[/b], might look into that. I took a leaf to the county extension agent, she knew what the problem was right away. 


Did she prescribe Geritol


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By SE18 on 23 Aug 2010 07:07 AM 
Hi, got a maple tree (the kind with red stems), 













Just for the record, if anyone cares! 
you probably have a "Red Maple"..which surpringsly, is not the one with red leaves! 

Three common types of maples, (here in the north east anyway)
http://www.pendernursery.com/Catalog/Detail/acerrubrumsunvalley.html 
Red maple - Acer rubrum - has green leaves, and red stems:
http://www.pendernursery.com/Catalo...alley.html
leaves turn bright red in the fall.

Sugar Maple - Acer sarrharum - has green leaves, and yellow stems:
http://bio.bd.psu.edu/plant_web/Ace...a_Leaf.jpg
leaves generally turn yellow/orange in the fall.

"Canadian Red Maple" also called "Red Norway Maple" is the one with all-red leaves.
a variety of Acer platanoides:
http://www.bluerivernursery.com/pla...red-2.html
leaves dont change color in the fall..they just turn brownish and fall off the tree.

that one is often called "A red maple"..but really the one with the green leaves is the Red maple! 

there are many more maples too, but those are the three that often get confused..
especially the "red maples"..

Scot


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

I didn't know there were maples with red leaves; I just thought they turn colors in fall. Interesting. Anyway... 



Yesterday I took this series of photos showing the red maple and its neighboring sugar? Maple. Here are images of the blight in the red maple; you can see the finished canal; well half finished 







































here’s the neighboring maple which seems OK


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## SE18 (Feb 21, 2008)

here’s a closeup of the the neighboring maple which seems OK. Does it look like it might be a sugar maple? Might I be able to tap it for sugar? ☺


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