9/04/10 TOO EARLY TO TURN, AND PRACTICING THE TALK

MAYBE IT WILL ALL BLOW OUT TO SEA
A DISEASED MAPLE
A HEALTHY MAPLE

Friday, 8:00 AM. 55 degrees, wind WSW, brisk. The sky is overcast, we got .2” of rain earlier and the barometer predicts rain, although the whole system may yet blow out with strong winds.
Maples, particularly sugar maples, are susceptible to salt damage, and roadside trees turning colors midsummer or early fall may be exhibiting damage caused by road salt runoff or spray. Another common cause of early leaf coloration and dieing branches on maples is maple wilt, Verticillium albo-atrum, a basically incurable fungus disease. Many other plants, woody and herbaceous (i.e., tomatoes and potatoes) are affected by this soil borne fungus. In trees the fungus usually enters through wounds in roots or branches. A telltale sign of infection in maples is an olive colored discoloration of the sapwood under the bark. The young maple pictured probably has maple wilt. A last-ditch treatment I have used with some success is fertilization with a high-nitrogen fertilizer during the growing season. The same or other susceptible species should not be replanted where a plant has died of verticillium wilt.
Pileated woodpeckers have been calling vociferously for the last week or two. I suspect it is young males practicing their territorial calls. In any case they are raising a ruckus.