Norway Maple Tree

The Norway Maple in my backyard has a long history. My mom and mother-in-law got together to get me and my husband this tree many years ago. It took coupons and some cash and we picked out a tall, lop-sided, discounted Norway Maple. It took many years for it to grow as big as you see below. It was hit by lightening one year and ever since has improved it's look. It got greener leaves, filled in the area where it was lop-sided. The tree was doing so well, and was so pretty! It grew tall enough that in the summer, that it would cast a shadow to the right, exactly where my tomato plants grew, protecting the tomatoes from too much hot sun. My daughter's dogs love the shade the tree gives. That's their favorite spot in the summer, right under the tree. One of them even hoards their toys under there!

Then came the Japanese beetles. They love roses, rose of sharon bushes (to the left of my Norway maple) and yes, maple trees. They didn't really chew on the Norway Maple much, just the bottom leaves. This year was the first year they got to the very top. The poor tree started looking sad and chewed. When the Japanese beetles finally left, we were overjoyed! Then fall arrived.

All of a sudden, almost all the leaves on the tree have big black spots! How much more can this tree take? I did some research and found that the tree has Tar Spot Fungus. How did my tree get this fungus? I don't know, as the spores come from diseased leaves from the year before that are still on the ground around the tree in the spring.

Since my tree didn't look like the above pic last year, I want to know which neighborhood tree decided to drop their leaves in my yard, infecting my beautiful tree. Doing research on the Internet, I found that Tar Spot Fungus isn't usually life-threatening to the tree. It just makes it a little unsightly. The best we can do is clean up ALL the leaves this fall.

And make sure that leaves are not around my tree in the spring. What happens is there are spores in the black spot. The spores get released in the spring, and if they are conveniently near a Norway Maple, the tree will keep getting infected. So, we will work at getting rid of all the leaves this fall. We'll cross our fingers and hope for the best next year. Our beautiful Norway Maple deserves so much better!