Two poorly Acers

Two of my Acers are poorly.

One of them has had dying leaves for over a month. I'm wondering whether it could be the late frost we had as it seems to have happened since then and the leaves were not fully formed at the time. Or is that coincidence? Could I have overfed it (just gave it some ericaceous slow release granules around late March time)?




There are two main stems on the one next to it and one of them seems to be dying. It has some sort of disease. I'd like to know what it is and how it's treated. Do I remove that stem entirely from the rest of the plant?



Thanks for your help

 

I'm no expert but a severe frost (a la some we had here in May) could well be responsible for the leaf damage. It could also have been caused by very cold winds. I'd maybe pull off the leaves and keep everything crossed new ones appear. This early season has caused a lot of damage here with April being ridiculously warm and encouraging plants to get going too early. Many of my Rhododendron flowers/new growth bought it. Perhaps you were the same? as I think you grow lots of them as I'm sure you posted some gorgeous photos.
The bark issue looks a lot more serious I'm afraid. It looks very similar to what some of mine have had over the years. I think if you do a little scratch test the result will not be green unfortunately. I've just pruned out the offending branches which unfortunately, usually spoils the shape. What causes the bark to die I'm not sure but I tend to think it's very cold weather. I'm sure someone way more knowledgeable than I will give you the definative answer. I do know good hygiene practise is important when pruning Acers, but you'll probably know that already.
This Spring due to extreme conditions of boiling hot in April and then a few nights of about -7 has killed stone dead a Photinia which was a good 40 years old. That certainly showed how difficult it was for plants this Spring in many areas of the country.

 

Hi
I suspect Verticillium Wilt and acers are very susceptible , sorry to say not a lot you can do its a soil based fungus that enters through the roots and they effect the veins of the tree and causes wilt and die back.

Spruce