Japanese maple branches infected with wilt. What to do?

[Frogman777]

Hi everyone, hope you’re well.

My Japanese maple has been going quite strong for some time, but some of the branches look like they’re infected with verticillium wilt and I was hoping for some advice on what to do next.

I’ve scratched the branches and the layer beneath on the black spots have turned brown, so I think they may be dead and thus need pruning otherwise the whole tree might die. However, all the branches have little buds located on the nodes and the tree seems incredibly healthy, having even pushed out some new growth between the end of summer and now.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

FYI, I am located in Melbourne, Australia. It’s currently just turned autumn but the weather is wacky. The tree is on a balcony, so shielded from the rain and doesn’t get direct sun. Photos are attached for reference.

Many thanks
Frogman

 

[Bavarian Raven]

Cut. Chop the branches back six inches from the last bit on infected wood. Then look at the cut. If there’s any grey Color in the wood cut back another four to six inches. Only cure this is.

 

[bwaynef]

Verticillium wilt doesn't indicate outwardly other than wilt. The blackness that you see is NOT vw. I would cut well below the blackened tissue, seal the cut w/ a putty that has a fungicide additive (japanese putties often do), and treat with a broad-spectrum fungicide. If this is particularly dear to you, you can likely have some tissue tested to see what pathogen you're dealing with so you can pinpoint your treatment.