Question
I planted an 8 foot sunset maple in July last year and most of the leaves turned red, shrivelled up and fell off by late august.
This spring the tree looked great as new leaves came back. But now some are starting to colour early and fall off. Upon examination many of the leaves are spotted which I understand can just be a fungi and seem to be rather limp, and the trunk is also covered with black spots.
We did have a cooler wet spring and I did add 3 fertilzer spikes around 3 weeks ago.

any suggestions?

Answer
Hi Fred:
Sounds like your maple has been through some stressful times. Premature leaf coloration and subsequent leaf drop is a way that trees show stress. Sounds as if you have two issues, one are the spots on the leaves and second, spots on the trunk. Can you send a closeup photo of these spots.  It may require two separate emails with the current system policies.  Be sure your images are in focus by reviewing them first on your computer before you send them.

You may also wish to examine the trunk for evidence of damaged or loose bark. These things may indicate some significant problems.  

Steve