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Mature Maple Top-Down Dieback: Drought, Verticillium, or Old Age?

3-story maple looks horrible—top leaves brown, bottom green. Watered at drip line after scorch started. Dying from top down or summer shutdown?

Three Possibilities

Cumulative drought stress (this year + previous)
Verticillium wilt — vascular fungus, google it
Old age / root failure — top dieback = root signal

Best Action

Hire certified arborist for on-site diagnosis. Large tree = high liability if it fails.

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