Possible insect pest on Acer
New gardener 77
Posts: 1
I have a small (10 foot high) green leaved Acer which I inherited when we bought the new house last year. When the leaves emerged this spring, the leaves didn't come out properly. Now, a few weeks later, 95% of the branches show pale green curled leaves which show signs of being eaten. At a distance they look as if the leaves are still coming out. These leaves are pale green and whitish in color, kind of shriveled. There are no black or brown spots on the leaves. As the weeks go by the leaves do seem to still slowly be expanding, I don't see any sign of any fungus growing on any part of the tree or at the base of the tree. The other 5% of the branches have normal bright green healthy leaves. It is close to other trees and I don't want those to be infected as well. Is this insect damage? Will it kill the tree? There are no visible insects but they could be INSIDE the wood or leaves somehow, may be they overwintered inside the leaf buds. There is a piece of bark missing half way up the tree about three inches across. The wood underneath is bright sand color - looks fine. I only noticed the piece of bark missing the other day and it may not be relevant. We have a wildlife garden so I am keen to know (a) is this insect damage (b) will it kill the tree or spread to other trees (there is a different species of maple and two kinds of beech nearby and also large willow tree) © should I spray and if so with what, or should I remove the whole tree to protect the other trees. Obviously I would prefer to save the tree if I can. The previous owners mentioned that the tree had some kind of leaf shrivel problem they didn't know what, when we bought the house, but I don't think it was as bad as this last year. Thanks.
Posts
A photo would help. Missing bark is important whatever it looks like underneath, that's the growing part of the tree.
If you want a wildlife garden forget the sprays. You need to achieve a balance of life forms and wiping some out won't take you there, it has effects right up the food chain
Tree diseases are mostly specific to species and are unlikely to spread to the others you mention.
Is it possible this tree is one of the variegated ones, some of which are very suceptible to frost/wind and anything else that comes their way, and that the plain green part has reverted?
In the sticks near Peterborough
I am seeing quite a few questions on Acer growth this year and one or 2 of mine are similar. Without seeing a picture I think it was late frosts getting at the buds. We had 3 weeks or so of good warm temperatures in April then a cold spell with frosts and emerging buds are very susceptible to frost damage. The good news is Acers have secondary leaves that emerge later in the season.