Question
we have several maple trees on our property that have some form of disease the leaves are brown it looks as though someone took a blow torch to them can they be saved the main one on the front property is a beautiful tree that i don't want to lose....some of the neighbors seem to have the same problem can it be from all the rain?

Answer
Yes I think it is the rainfall if you have had more than normal amount. Too much rain is as bad as too little depending on the soil type. This late in the year I would not worry about the leaves turning. There are several diseases that will cause spots on the leaves of maple. The increase in moisture will increase the number of spots. These can be controlled in the early spring but this late in the year it will not do any good to spray a fungicide on the leaves. The best thing to do now is to rake up the fallen leaves and destroy them or move them off the site to reduce the amount of fungi spores that can infect the leaves next spring. The trees will not die from these spots or the over abundance of water but usually do drop their leaves sooner than normal. They will leaf back out next spring good as usual.