Maples got a "wilt"

[Eric Group]

any ideas? Not a catastrophic issue- only 2-3 plants affected, sprayed with a multi insecticide/miticide/fungicide spray today, but the growing tips on a few of my Maples are doing this wilt then turn black and die thing... Rest of the tree is fine once affected growth is removed... No visible aphids or anything like that...

 

[BethF]

How about ant activity?

 

[Eric Group]

How about ant activity?

Hey Beth!
Nope, none!
No aphids, no ants, no white flies... old leaves don't have visible fungus or anything.. a few of the trees that are displaying this issue were repotted earlier in the eason, showed no signs of root aphids/galls.. Nothing visible... I suspect Spider Mites on a few of my Junis, so I got a 3 in 1 spray from my local nursery that has a miticide in it and hit pretty much EVERYTHING with it this weekend! We will see how that goes..

 

[johng]

any bark discoloration on the trunk or affected branches?

 

[Eric Group]

any bark discoloration on the trunk or affected branches?

No, thank God! No black spots/ "verticulum Wilt"... I noticed the one I posted pics of- an Amur Maple- showed signs of less "droop" in the leaves at the tips yesterday! I hope that is a sign that the treatment I gave them is helping.

I did notice after further examination that some of the leaves on a few of the Maples had a little black stuff under the leaves- looked like bug poop of some sort! May need a treatment of systemic if it comes back... I didn't use that very much this year... Trying to avoid it...

 

[Smoke]

Leaf rollers. They hit elms right now also.

 

[MichaelS]

Thrips.

 

[Eric Group]

Thrips.

Very possible- bugs smaller than a MM would not leave an easily noticeable signature... The treatment I gave them should cover these guys, so it would make sense that I seem to have gotten an almost immediate improvement. I also noticed a few dead beetles in the area post-spray... Not Jap Beetles, just regular old brown ones, but that indicates the stuff I sprayed is doing work... I hate resorting to that sort of "kill 'em all" spray, but the trees are more important to me than the bugs!!

Thanks everyone for responding... It was never a major outbreak, the trees were still healthy... Just striving for the best health I can get for all my trees... Simply "surviving" is no longer good enough for me.

 

[Eric Group]

Leaf rollers. They hit elms right now also.

Thanks buddy, I don't know if they are leaf rollers... Those guys are the ones that make their nests in the leaves, and wrap up their "cocoon" or whatever in the leaves, right? Are they sap suckers or anything like that? I only recall them affecting the specific leaves they rolled up in when I had them in the past...

 

[Ceijay]

I also have a maple that's wilting. It had ants.

The ants are gone now but I think it's still wilting. What do i do.

Sorry for going off topic.

 

[Eric Group]

I also have a maple that's wilting. It had ants.

The ants are gone now but I think it's still wilting. What do i do.

Sorry for going off topic.

Well, I'd say that is pretty on-topic.

Ants usually= aphids! The ants farm them for the sweet stuff the aphids make... Check for aphids.., normally they are little green balls of useless mushy insect that swarm on new growth. They suck the sap out of it which causes the wilting... I had checked mine thoroughly for aphids before posting my query, so I was sure that wasn't my issue, but if you had ants it MAY be yours!

 

[Ceijay]

No aphids on this maple.

It's a fire any colony that came from a neighbors yard. I've dusted 3 new mounds already.

Are the ants causing the wilt or jut a symptom of ahpids.

 

[Eric Group]

No aphids on this maple.

It's a fire any colony that came from a neighbors yard. I've dusted 3 new mounds already.

Are the ants causing the wilt or jut a symptom of ahpids.

You got me man... I think a pic might help people help you.

 

[Ceijay]

You got me man... I think a pic might help people help you.

It died before I got back to it again so not sure if a picture would be much use now.

such a shame. it was a beautiful tree.

I did manage to press one of the leaves though before it got so sick.

 

[ml_work]

verticulum Wilt

My Google search found this : "Verticillium wilt is caused by the soil-borne fungi"
I move a JM from a pot to the ground, it did good about a month and then all the leaves wilted and it died. I am wondering if Verticillium Wilt is what happened. It was some old bonsai soil, maybe this had grown in it. Do not mean to jump in your Thread, just thinking out loud.

 

[Eric Group]

My Google search found this : "Verticillium wilt is caused by the soil-borne fungi"
I move a JM from a pot to the ground, it did good about a month and then all the leaves wilted and it died. I am wondering if Verticillium Wilt is what happened. It was some old bonsai soil, maybe this had grown in it. Do not mean to jump in your Thread, just thinking out loud.

Yeah, verticulum wilt is nasty stuff... It can happen when trees are left sitting on the ground and water splashes up on them bringing sand and dirt and bacteria and fungus.. from the ground along with it. Important to keep your Maples up on something like a bench or stone patio... To avoid this sort of infection.

My confusion on V-wilt If it is present in the soil I imagine it could get a tree planted directly in the ground seems to make sense... But it cannot be an ever present or even terribly common thing or else.. How would any Maples... LIVE? In landscapes, the wild...

Just to update this thread... The Maples affected really seem to be fine now! The same spray that helped perk them up was used on a Juniper or two I suspected were being attacked by Soider Mites and I think it is knocking those buggers out too!