

The dead areas are often limited by the veins. The leaves will shrivel and then fall from the tree. This leaf disease causes large, irregular dead areas to develop around the edges of the leaves and in their centers. These are hard to accurately identify and are caused by several different fungi. Maples can show several different leaf-spots that are usually brown, scattered all over the leaf and sometimes join together into larger areas of dead tissue. This disease is caused by a fungus called Rhytisma. There may be one or several spots on each leaf and leaves with a lot of spots may turn yellow and fall prematurely.

Each circle is surrounded by a yellow margin. These can be very small or up to ½ an inch across. This is seen as black, roughly circular spots on the leaves.

The most common are listed below: Tar Spot They are usually seen in mid to late summer and none of these diseases are life-threatening. These usually show up as different kinds of spots on the leaves. There are a variety of leaf diseases found in maple trees that vary in intensity from year to year and from place to place. The most common – and least important – problems can be seen on the leaves. So what signs might be telling you that your maple tree is in trouble? Maple Tree Leaf Diseases There are a few diseases that can occur and it is helpful to be able to recognize them and even more helpful to know what steps can reduce the chances of them occurring. Chemistry lesson aside, this is one instance where the solution is quite easy and the addition of a little iron can go a long way to improving the health and appearance of the trees in your yard.Maple trees are usually healthy and live for many, many years. If you have noticed these symptoms on your trees, please don’t let them go untreated. If you choose to use it as a drench, apply once a year. It adds iron to the plant, but it won’t lower the pH of your soil, so it needs to be used in conjunction with the iron sulfate for a long term solution to address the soil problem. Yet, even though it will improve the appearance of your tree, it won’t fix the problem in the soil when used alone. If you use it as a spray, apply it several times during the growing season to turn the leaves green quickly producing a “feel good” fix for the discoloration. It comes in liquid form and can be used as either a spray or a drench and each application method serves different purposes.
#October glory maple colorado young plus#
Iron Plus is a powder that you apply a couple of times during the growing season, usually in March and July.Ĭhelated iron is my third product in the fight against iron chlorosis. This is basically the same product as the iron sulfate, but it adds some nitrogen for green growth, which is especially beneficial during the summer months. A word of caution, however: Be careful not to get it on your concrete or other surfaces because it will discolor them.Īnother product that is helpful is Iron Plus. Treat the affected tree every four to six months for best results. This helps to pull the pH down which in turn allows more iron to be available for the plant. Iron sulfate is of course sulfur which, when combined with water, turns into a weak sulfuric acid solution. Of course, the thing you are trying to do is to bring the pH down in your soil, and this can be done easily by adding iron sulfate. The good news is that this iron deficiency is easily treated using several products or a combination of them. Left unchecked, it can eventually kill your tree. This will stunt the plant even if it’s well fertilized, so if you’ve been following a fertilizer schedule, but you are seeing some of these signs, then this is probably what’s going on with your tree. As it progresses, necrosis sets in, and the leaves will actually turn black if untreated. It starts as interveinal chlorosis, which is when the area on the leaves between the veins begin to turn yellow or red. The higher the pH, the worse the condition gets. If the pH is above about 7.5-7.7, the iron gets tied up chemically and is not available to the plant, even though there still could be iron present in the soil. It’s caused by high pH in your soil, which in turn causes an iron deficiency. Since I know it’s way too early for that to happen naturally, that appearance is usually caused by a condition called iron chlorosis, and it’s easily treated.Īutumn Blaze and Hot Wings Maples seem to be affected most often, and although it usually affects maples, it can also affect other trees. One of the maple trees in my yard is looking like fall has arrived because it is already turning red.
