Planning to Plant a Sugar Maple for Fall Colors? 2 Problems That Will Affect the Colors
The sugar maple tree displays beautiful fall color until the first frost each year. If you are planning to plant this tree for this reason, you need to learn about some problems that can affect these beautiful colors. To help you get started, below are two of these problems so you can keep an eye out for them.
Tree Tar Spot
Tree tar spot is a type of fungus that appears as black spots on leaves. The spots may be as small as the head of a pin or as large as the size of a quarter. In some cases, these spots can get even larger depending on how long the tree has had the fungus. The most common time for the fungus to appear on the sugar maple tree is in the late summer. Fortunately, the fungus is only cosmetic and will not cause any kind of damage to your sugar maple tree.
The fungus hides in leaves that are decomposing, so the best way to protect your tree is to remove any dead leaves that you see. If there are a lot of dead leaves, hire a tree trimming company to trim the tree for you.
Sooty Mold
If your tree has sooty mold, the leaves will have spots on them that look like soot. The soot is black and powdery, and you can brush it off the leaves with your hands. Sooty mold is caused by insects such as mealybugs, whiteflies, and aphids. But it can be hard to control the insects. Fortunately, the threat is low and does not do direct damage to the tree. Sooty mold can make your sugar maple tree look bad, however. You can treat this problem on your own by purchasing a product at a garden center. There is a liquid that can be poured at the base of the tree so that the liquid reaches the roots. If you do this at the beginning of the next fall season, it will prevent the sooty mold from coming back again. The product you purchase will come with complete instructions on how to use it.
If you have other trees that are planted too close to the sugar maple, sooty mold can spread to these trees also. Trees planted too close together can cause other problems, so you may want to consider hiring a tree service company like Hagstrom & Sons Tree Service to remove some trees to take care of overcrowding.
Another way to keep your sugar maple in good condition is to have it trimmed regularly. Never do this yourself; instead, hire a tree trimming service to do this for you. This is important because if the crown of the tree becomes too thick, sunlight cannot filter through the tree.