Liquidambar styraciflua

[BJR]

Hey everyone

I have a very large Liquidamber styraciflua in my front yard which appears to be sick. I have called many horticultural consultants and arborists with no luck.

The tree is leafing ok at the tips and very sparsly in the middle. It is now one week into our summer. There is what I would call long scaring or cankers ( areas where bark is missing from 1 side of the branch for maybe 300mm long ) along a few branches only. Last summer some of these branches snapped off in strong winds. We are in a temperate climate, Winters down to 4deg and summers up to 38deg. Rainfall has been good.

Any ideas?

[Bill Schwab]

Sounds like you could be near San Diego with that awesome weather! I have been told of a fungus that Liquidambar can get. Since I don't know much about the area and soil and demographics of your area, that is about all I can give you in terms of help. Can you tell me where you are at and perhaps I could run it by a few of the arborists I work around?

[Will Pacala]

Any pictures of the tree and it's surrondings???

[Will Pacala]

Also, I wanted to ask if anyone knew what this could be. I have an 11' upright sancherry tree. I fear that the root-ball may be rotting but I'm not really sure. All of the sudden the tree itself started to lean quite a bit. I pushed it back slightly and it felt very weak as if only the soil around it is holding it up.


Does anyone know what this could be or what is happening?

Is there anyway to fix or repair this?

Another thing is that it is in a 3' high raised fieldstone bed. That may contribute to the rotting by having a large amount of moisture build-up underneath.

[Bill Schwab]

Will:

Are you talking about a Purple Leaf Sand cherry????

Those things are bulletproof in the midwest...Dig into the rootball and see if there is any water sitting...If in a raised bed, hardly possible, but you never know....Did the tree get planted in the besd, or was the bed built, then dirt dumped around it? Big no no if that is the case....

[dan deutekom]

Out our way Purple Leaf Sand Cherry are very problem prone. They tend to grow fine for a few years and then they just start to go downhill. They seem to get a disease that just slowly lets them degenerate over the course of a few years. They don't really die but they finely look so bad that you end up yanking them out.

[Will Pacala]

Come to think of it it is a purple. The bed was constructed and then the tree was put in. the ground around the tree is moist but not really wet. The tree may just have "root rot" and the root ball is rotting away. Not sure what to do aboput it though.

[jwholden]

I have noticed that Cherries (Prunus) tend to have very weak root systems. I am at the point where any Thundercloud Plums I install get stakes to avoid a call about a crooked tree.

I often see Purple Leaf Sand Cherries with cankers and in a state of decline. You may want to try a another 'purple' leaved plant as a replacement; such as Crimson Pygmy Barberry (3-4' shrub), Royal Purple Smoke Bush (10-15' tree), or Forsest Pansy Redbud (20-25' tree).

[Stonehenge]

Hey folks, what about BJR?

By the way Bill, the weather sounds so nice where BJR is because he's an Aussie. ;)

[dan deutekom]

Well I have an idea but it probably is stupid. I have a Liquidamber growing in my garden park. It is just on the border for winter hardiness in Toronto. This year we had a late freeze after the buds had started to open. That poor tree had a heck of a time this year. Your description sounds just like what mine looked like. Is it possible that you had a freeze? It would only take one night for the temperature to drop below 0 and cause damage.

[BJR]

Dan, no freeze here. Our temp never gets below 4 deg.

All of the other Liquidambars in the area are fine.

I am probably thinking of neighbour inteference. IE poisoning. It blocks the view of the lake from our neighbour. Who, by the way, is a great neighbour. But you never know.

Thanks Stone for bringing the topic of conversation back to my problem.
It's been a while since I have had time to log on and have a chat. The number of new members is outstanding. I only had time because I was waiting for an Auto Electrician to fix one of my trucks.

[Nek]

John--- Be careful with the Forest Pansy's. I think they are only cold hardy to around -10 or so. Just be careful on planting location. I learned the hard way.:blush: