Wind Damaged Maple Tree

Hardwood and Softwood Maples

• Some maples are hardwood, while others are softwood. Hardwood trees have denser, thicker wood than softwood species; this is due to the difference in the trees' cell structures. Hardwood trees have two main types of water-conducting cells -- tracheids and vessel elements -- as well as densely organized fiber cells with thick walls. Softwood species have only tracheid cells and lack the thick wood fiber cells. Both types of maple trees have thin bark susceptible to physical damage, but softwood species are more vulnerable to limb breakage due to conditions like high wind.

Wind Damage and Its Aftermath

• Some symptoms of wind damage are obvious -- broken or cracked limbs or, in extreme cases like tornadoes, stripped bark. However, torn, jagged leaves on a maple -- especially on a newly transplanted tree -- are also a sign of wind damage. The aspect of most concern after any type of damage to a maple is the tree's susceptibility to opportunistic insects and diseases. Aphids, borers, scales, tar spot, leaf spots, anthracnose, cankers, collar rot, bacterial leaf scorch. verticillium wilt, molds and heart rots are examples of threats to maples after they've sustained physical damage.

Heart Rot

• Heart rot, a fungal infection that rots the wood of trunks, branches and twigs, is one of the most worrisome threats to maples after suffering wind or other mechanical damage. The wounds created by broken branches or open areas in the wood provide an entry point for various types of heart rot fungi to invade. These infections can go unnoticed for years, however, because the fungi rot the wood from the inside out; once obvious signs of infection, like broken and decayed limbs, cankers or mushrooms appear, the damage is already extensive. Wood structurally weakened from the inside out also creates the threat of falling branches.

What To Do

• If one of your prized maples has suffered wind damage, there is little that can be done. Most healthy trees will recover on their own, but paying special attention to the damaged tree's health needs following any injury or disease is important. Maples need rich, porous, well-drained soil, and many require irrigation in dry weather. Most maple cultivars do best in slightly acidic soil and access to the sun -- whether it's full sun or partial shade. Do not cover surface feeding roots with soil; instead, use 3 or 4 inches of organic mulch that allows for air and water exchange. Prune branches and twigs early on in the tree's growth to reduce susceptibility to insects and diseases.