It can hit any maple. Seemingly overnight the hopeful leaf tips and buds dried up. This guide explains the most common causes of damage to sprouting with tips for problem solving and prevention.
Shoots are very sensitive to frost
Cold air sea wilts the shoots
In spring, home gardeners often complain about withered, dead shoots on the maple. After the first warm sunny days, the delicate, frost-sensitive leaves and buds sprout. If ground frosts occur late overnight, the fresh shoots have nothing to counteract them. The risk is high until mid-May. After the ice saints, the situation calms down.
Like liquid, the cold flows down in plains and hollows. Real pools of cold air form, gripping the tips of leaves and shoots in their frosty pincers. The budding on sycamore and field maple is less frequently affected by frost damage than Norway maple and slotted maple.
Eliminate and prevent damage to the shoot - this is how it works
Damage to the fresh maple shoots caused by cold air does not threaten the existence of the tree. However, the problem should not be taken lightly. Diseases and pests find their way into the tree via frozen leaf tips and buds. This is how you act correctly and prevent further sprouting damage:
- Give the affected tree until the end of June to regenerate on its own
- Cut back frozen, dead shoots back into the healthy wood
- As a preventive measure, put on a cap made of breathable fleece overnight until after the ice saints
Are you unsure how far the pruning should go after budding damage? Then do the vitality test. Below the last dead buds and leaf tips scrape off the bark a little. If green tissue appears, you are in the living shoot area and can apply the scissors there. Grey-brown to dark brown tissue indicates deadwood area.
Potassium fertilization prevents frost damage to the shoot
By providing a targeted supply of nutrients in autumn, you strengthen the winter hardiness of your maple tree. In September, apply a potassium-rich fertilizer, such as comfrey manure or patent potash. Potassium strengthens the cell walls in the tissue and lowers the freezing point in the cell sap.
tips
Partial shoot damage in maple trees is caused by a dreaded disease. The pathogens of Verticillium wilt enter a maple tree via the roots and clog the supply pathways. The result is wilted, withered leaves and limp shoots in places.