What killed the 30 year old Maple?

[Jerry_NJ]

We have a 30+ year old Maple that is about 30' tall and has a trunk in the range of 18" in diameter extending up about 10' where it splits into three leaders of similar size. The tree was full of leaf last year and produced beautiful color in the Fall ... and many leaves to clean up.

This year no leaves and I have now given up on the hope it is a late bloomer. It is in a grass area with limited and controlled use of Herbicide but only by a tank hand sprayer directly on broad leaf lawn weeds and some Iron Sulfide on ground moss around the trunk, and some on the trunk... same for other trees of various types that have also collected moss growing up from the ground.

The trunk is very black, looks like it survived a forest fire. It has maples on both sides of different varieties and all of them look normal and are full of leaf - they share some blackness of trunk.

What could have killed a large but young Maple tree?

Pictures do not show the deep black of the bark but I include in the hope they will help.

Of course it mans more firewood for me, but as the tree is too close to the house and big for me to handle it will cost a lot more than the price of firewood to get it down even if I have it just put on the ground leaving it to me to cut the rounds and split and clean up small branches and dispose of them.

 

[Applesister]

Cut it down. I saw a bug exit hole in second pic. last pic looks like some type of systemic canker. The black is sometimes caused from Sooty Mold which is attracted to honeydew or exuding sap. Caused from bugs. Whatever killed it acted very fast. I would contact your county conservation dept. and find out exactly.
I think I did in two Pin Cherries with RoundUp. I spray around the base of alot of trees. I take chances with herbicides vs the damage to bark from string trimmers. The thing is I repeatedly spray some vegetation that just doesnt die so I find it hard to believe it would kill a tree.
Cut the tree up and see what happened. Maple is good firewood. I had to have an Elm cut that was right on top of a building. 400.00 to cut and buck. But I got a cord of wood out of that tree.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Of course it mans more firewood for me, but as the tree is too close to the house and big for me to handle it will cost a lot more than the price of firewood to get it down even if I have it just put on the ground leaving it to me to cut the rounds and split and clean up small branches and dispose of them.

Cost? Put an ad on Craigslist. Something like this: "Please cut down my tree for free. Must be a professional with insurance and paid crew since tree is close to house, fire station, nuclear power plant, etc. The benefit to you is that you can leave the log lengths in my yard and I will cut them into rounds so you save on the cost of hauling the wood away. You must however, dispose of the brush". I see those on CL all the time. I'm sure someone will take you up on it.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

Thanks, good inputs. I'd go for $400 if all is "bucked"... I willing to cut the rounds on the 4 leader above the main trunk. I have a good Husky 440 something with an 18" (edit: I see in my "signature" I have a 440E 16: Husky) but I think that is too short to cut the trunk... I'd handle the brush too. I have a recommendation from a neighbor, the problem may be the tree is too big for him, but he is willing to work-share, to reduce cost tot owner.

I haven't used anything as harsh as RoundUp, just the Tractor Supply Lawn weed killer. The "Jury" is still out on that one, it seems to kill broad leaf weeds, but slowly at best and I've got a bunch to deal with... about 3 acres of mowed grass and about 2 of those I try to maintain some semblance of a "lawn". I use a hand tank most of the time, but have a 16 gallon with an electric pump I put on a trailer when the going gets tough.

I worry now that the neighboring trees could contract the same problem, but they look healthy so fare, lots of big leaves. One is a Crimson Crown Maple and is about 40' from the dead Maple.

Good news is if I can split before the end of June I should be able to use the Maple by January.. using other older wood first. I never have a two year supply fire wood aging and waiting.

 

[Jerry_NJ]

I reported to my neighbor, the County Park System, they said no other reports of sightings on their large properties, one next door to me. The referred me to the Rutgers University Extension Volunteer group. The were interested and told me over the phone no other similar reports have come in. Suggested I ask the tree service to bid on the work I want done and give an diagnostic of the cause.

I called a tree service another neighbor has used, we'll see what inputs they have. The Extension service is sending me literature on the type of problem I described.

 

[velvetfoot]

I think I killed a huge hemlock when I stupidly rinsed out a water softener brine tank (no big salt lumps).

 

[jeffesonm]

Where are you located? I've got a guy who will chop and drop 'em for cheap.........