Question
We just planted a sunset maple this summer and it seemed to be doing just fine,
but we just noticed black spots all over the leaves.  Our nieghbors across the
street got their maples at the same time as us, and their trees have spots too.  Is
this a fungus?  Is it just because the tree was just planted this summer?  I don't
want to lose the tree.  Help!

Answer
These are leaf spot fungi and really not a problem. The worst that can happen is the fungi will cause the leaves to drop sooner then normal. These fungi infect the leaves late in the year and will cause no health problem to the tree just make the leaves look bad. The leaves can be sprayed with a copper fungicide but this will have to be used as the new leaves are fully developed and then every three weeks through out the growing season--which is not really needed. The leaf spots will not kill the tree.