QuestionOur gum maple has no new shoots and many dead ones, is not as full as previous years. Is this the result of a warm winter in Connecticut? Is there anything I should do such as deep feeding?
Thank you
AnswerNeed to check and see if it is still alive first--start near the end of a branch and scrape a small bit of bear off and if the color is green under the bark than the branch is a live. If the color is brown then the branch is dead at this point on the branch--if brown continue down the branch at intervals scraping bark if you find green prune the dead part off. If the tree is still alive I would water with 1 inch of water per week until it leafs out. Put a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it stop. This watering will keep the root system alive until the tree can bud out again. I would not fertilize it this year but wait until next to feed it.
