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Autumn Blaze Maple Top Death and Trunk Splitting: Cold Injury

4–5 inch Autumn Blaze (planted Fall 2006) with dead top, black branches, south-side trunk splitting/falling off: cold injury. Splitting bark = fatal vascular damage.

Action

Scrape bark to find green cambium (live/dead interface).
Prune all dead wood above live tissue.
May need to remove splitting side entirely.
Fertilize, water, wait 1 week; send photos if unsure.

Prognosis

Cold injury with splitting bark usually fatal. Photos help assess if any live tissue remains to save.

Plant Diseases: Assessing Autumn Blaze Maple Survival: Scratch Test and Certified Arborist Referral; Autumn Blaze Maple Sunscald and Borer Damage: Healing vs. Structural Risk; Borer Damage and Decay in Autumn Blaze Maple; Autumn Blaze Maple with Scale Insects: Do Not Buy, Plant in Fall; Autumn Blaze Maple Bark Split: Sunscald, Frost Crack, and Recovery; Autumn Blaze Maple Sunscald: Recovery in Progress; Phyllosticta Leaf Spot on Autumn Blaze Maple: Cosmetic, Not Critical; Autumn Blaze Maple Decline: Bark Peeling, Sap Ooze, and Split Trunk; Autumn Blaze vs. Silver Maple: Identification and Root Behavior; Autumn Blaze Maple Early Red Color: Water Stress

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