What's wrong with my maple tree?

[Patler]

I should have thought of this before, but Woodbuck's article reminded me to call our County Ag Extension Office. I will be meeting with the horticultural specialist, with samples of dead and living branches in hand. If she is unable to diagnose it, she will send it to the UW plant science lab for a report.

[3irty1]

The tree sits out in an open area of my lawn which has been undisturbed since the tree was planted. The holes for the coffee cans of gold coins aren't very large, so shouldn't cause a problem,; and the rotting corpses of family member Vikings fans (Mrs. Patler's family) are much farther away. No indication of pests or burrowing animals of any sort. No visible damage to the tree. other than that half of it is dead.

The guy who planted it is a bit perplexed. He asked if we could wait a bit due to his work schedule, so it might be a while before we get it out to look at it. Unfortunately, the nursery isn't likely to do anything because it falls outside their warranty on tree transplants. It was a pricey tree, which I was OK with because at my age I don't have the time to wait for it to mature!

Four other trees planted at the same time on the Patler estate are doing fine. All were good size trees, but the dying one was the largest and most expensive. Over the years we had lost a lot of trees that lived their useful lives or were badly damaged in storms, so we felt it was time to replace some.

Check the southwest side of the tree for thin vertical cracks near the base of the trunk. The southwest side is the sunny side, so this is the side that is more prone to damage from frequent heating and cooling during the winter. The outer layers of the trunk expand at a faster rate than the inner layer and cause splits in the fiber.

[woodbuck27]

Check the southwest side of the tree for thin vertical cracks near the base of the trunk. The southwest side is the sunny side, so this is the side that is more prone to damage from frequent heating and cooling during the winter. The outer layers of the trunk expand at a faster rate than the inner layer and cause splits in the fiber.

Good stuff.

[red]

i transplanted a nice northern pine a few years back, did great the first year and all through the winter, then when spring came, the damn thing turned brown and died. i went to grab one of the branches and the thing just snapped. completely dried up

so in summery. trees suck

you're never in the clear with a transplanted tree