Is this actually an autumn blaze? In laws say the leaves just curl up and turn brown and die in autumn. Never turns red. Didn’t measure but it is absolutely massive. Maybe older than 50 years. We are in Utah, zone 5b.
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Am I right that the lime green leaves mean it needs iron? Is it possible to recover w iron injections?
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Does the root flare need to be more exposed? Are the roots choking themselves?
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It was topped/lopped? At some point. Will it ever recover?
Anything else?
by Odd-Feeling-608
16 Comments
That’s a silver maple, Acer saccharinum most likely. They are short lived trees and that one is probably in slow decline at this point. I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about the roots, maybe just mulch around the tree and have it trimmed/inspected soon
Is autumn blaze even that old of a cultivar? It looks like a silver maple to me.
Not an arborist. But looks exactly like the silver maple I have in my backyard and my parents have in theirs. They were very popular at one time (mid-century 1900s) but are not anymore because they shed limbs routinely. They are beautiful trees that grow quickly so they were popular to create canopies after residential developments and clear cutting. But they should be kept away from structures if possible. Mine has lost three sizeable limbs since 2018.
Silver maple.
Autumn blaze is a Red/Silver hybrid. They don’t get anywhere close to this big.
That’s a silver maple. Trees don’t really recover from a hard topping it just gives them bad form and weakly attached branches. It looks like it has chlorosis too, nutrient deficiency.
Silver maple, looks relatively healthy but I’d get a risk inspection from a TRAQ (risk assessment) certified arborist every 2 years, at this age they can change quickly. You can find the arborist at http://www.treesaregood.org
Silver maple. Healthy-ish for one that age. Probably entering retrenchment.
What a beauty! Gorgeous Silver Maple! 😍
Plant a new tree in a better spot and have that memory, then in a couple years get rid of the silver maple
It’s a silver maple. Looks like it was topped awhile ago
Fire wood for days.
Isn’t that just a big old silver maple? Wouldn’t worry about root flare. Wouldn’t worry about much of anything with that beauty. Looks fine.
Not sure why everyone liked to guess at these sort of things but there are maths that will tell you how old trees are.. [tree age equation](https://treescharlotte.org/tree-education/tree-age-equation/)
Yours looks over 100 for sure.
In maples the yellow leaves are often manganese deficiency, though it could be iron. Honestly probably not worth treating, it’s very very difficult to change soil pH to make the nutrient more available and I’d worry that injections would do more harm than good.
This is a senior citizen tree, enjoy it while it lasts and do regular checkups with a good arborist to help it through its golden years without dropping too many branches on things you care about.
Call a certified arborist for heavens sake.
Glorious tree!!