Japanese Maple Bare Upper Branches - Ask Extension
Hi. We have a 40 year old Japanese Maple about 25 feet tall. The past two years the very upper branches have been bare at the very ends. I've attac...
Knowledgebase
Japanese Maple Bare Upper Branches #788312
Asked April 27, 2022, 9:39 PM EDT
Hi. We have a 40 year old Japanese Maple about 25 feet tall. The past two years the very upper branches have been bare at the very ends. I've attached two pics - one of the top half of the tree and the other a closeup of aome bare branches at the top.
Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
We think that your tree looks well overall.
There are a couple of things that come to mind for the bare branches at the top of your tree.
One is that some trees produce many more leaves/branches than they need to survive. If we had a period of drought stress (which we often do in summer) there can be some dieback. You can either trim those branches out, or they will eventually fall off on their own.
Another thought is related to the 17-year cicada population that came through last season. We can't see detail from your photos, but look closely at branches within your tree- particularly those about the width of a pencil. The female cicada uses the underside of branches to lay eggs, which hatched last year, the larvae dropping to the ground and digging in for another incredible 17 years. The branches used will have a series of slits along the branch. Sometimes the branch tips fall off, and other times they stay and the tree continues to grow beyond the damage.
Either way, the tree looks good at this point.
You may enjoy learning more about this popular tree and some of the ways to keep it healthy. This is from our Maryland Grows blog:
https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2018/08/24/japanese-maples-in-maryland-landscapes-plant-location-care-are-keys-to-success/
Christine
There are a couple of things that come to mind for the bare branches at the top of your tree.
One is that some trees produce many more leaves/branches than they need to survive. If we had a period of drought stress (which we often do in summer) there can be some dieback. You can either trim those branches out, or they will eventually fall off on their own.
Another thought is related to the 17-year cicada population that came through last season. We can't see detail from your photos, but look closely at branches within your tree- particularly those about the width of a pencil. The female cicada uses the underside of branches to lay eggs, which hatched last year, the larvae dropping to the ground and digging in for another incredible 17 years. The branches used will have a series of slits along the branch. Sometimes the branch tips fall off, and other times they stay and the tree continues to grow beyond the damage.
Either way, the tree looks good at this point.
You may enjoy learning more about this popular tree and some of the ways to keep it healthy. This is from our Maryland Grows blog:
https://marylandgrows.umd.edu/2018/08/24/japanese-maples-in-maryland-landscapes-plant-location-care-are-keys-to-success/
Christine
