Question
Planted a 5 gal African Sumac 3 years ago and it grew very good and have 4 branches from the bottom of the tree to have multi trunks of which are growing very green and good but the top of the tree appears to have died with the leaves all dried and falling and the bark seems brittle.
 Do hope you have an answer for us.
                      Thanks, Bob

Answer
Bob:
As I visualize this, sounds like your plant has developed a type of dieback in which the upper portion has died.  This may be due to disease activity in that upper part.  Several things can do this, but your best recourse at this point is to try to remove as much of the dying portions as possible. See if it is feasible to prune out those portions that you sure are dead. Locate the branches that are dying and using your fingernail, scratch the bark in several places to determine where the brown part meets the green or living portion of a branch. Using your snips, go back into the green 1-2 inches to make your cut to remove the dead portion. Do this on the affected twigs.  Hopefully you will be able to "surgically" remove any potential disease problems.
Steve