QuestionI live in Littleton Colorado, 4 years ago I planted a red maple tree that is now about 25' tall. This year it looks like it started to bud, the buds are about 1/16", and then they stopped growing. This week I noticed a brown sap like substance seeping from where the branches are growing from the main part of the tree. The tips of the branches are now beginning to turn brown. What could be causing this?
AnswerSounds like borer attack. This is an insect that will infest the trunk and and where the branch grows out of the trunk and can cause mortality or die back of the foliage. The sap is the tree trying to posh the insect out. Spray the trunk and damage areas with an insecticide called Merit. This will kill the borer in the wood.
