Red Maple Disease? - Ask Extension
I have a red maple tree in my backyard (Lafayette, CO). We were recently walking around the yard looking at pruning our trees and noticed that the map...
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Red Maple Disease? #230051
Asked March 08, 2015, 8:09 PM EDT
I have a red maple tree in my backyard (Lafayette, CO). We were recently walking around the yard looking at pruning our trees and noticed that the maple was oozing. It was a healthy tree last season. We didn't notice any problems with it, so I'm not sure what disease it might have, but it doesn't look great. I've included some pictures. Any suggestions on what it might be would be appreciated.
Boulder County Colorado
Expert Response
It looks like it has some damaged bark and Maples often have free flowing sap that seeps from open woulds in late winter and early spring. The sap flow doesn't harm the tree but can create unattractive wet streaks on the bark. Since we had a polar vortex last fall where the temperature dropped by over 40* in one night a lot of the trees are suffering this year. It probably will come out of this fine since it was healthy before hand. Wait till after it leafs out before you make any decisions about it, but sap flow is normal for a Maple
