I suspect my Maple tree has a disease. Its tiny red leaves are shriveling up and the bark is just peeling! )=?

Question

My little red maple trees bark is just peeling away to reveal these dark splotches. Im not sure if the splotches are normal in the tree but im worried its dying.. Does anyone know what kind of disease it has and what I should do? D=

Answer 1

Can you be more specific? Where is the bark peeling, and how big are the splotches? It does sound like somthing is wrong if this is happening in April, but there are also other possible causes besides disease. (Like improper nutrients, water deficit or excess, a lot of things)

A common disease is Verticillium wilt, have you checked it out? I'm not sure about the wood discoloration, but it tends to sicken trees in general (the leaves will be flimsy if they appear at all...):

http://www.treehelp.com/trees/maple/mapl...

The most common disease in which the wood would be abnormally stained is sapstreak disease. This doesn't really seem to fit with what you're describing, since sapstreak usually starts in the center of the trunk, but I'd still check it out.

http://www.treehelp.com/trees/maple/mapl...