Question

Japanese Maple Disease   I live south of Atlanta GA and was concerned my two year old Japanese maple, which should be putting on new growth, didn't appear to be showing any color at all. I examined it and discovered a lot of thin, whitish (moldy looking) tendrils on the branches and trunk.
Is this a mold or an insect problem and how serious is it?

Thanks a lot!

Larry

Answer
Larry:

Carefully remove a few of these "tendrils" and look for a tiny hole in the bark where the tendril originates.  If you see a very tiny hole, this may be evidence of ambrosia beetle, a boring insect that can attack many thin barked trees.  "Google" ambrosia beetle to see these tendril like structures.  I do not recognize these structures as a disease organism.  There is a lot of information on the internet about this critter.

Steve