Question
Hi Tom,
The Japanese Maple in front of our house is about 8 years old. We bought it from Home Depot when it was about 2 feet tall and I planted it 6 1/2 years ago. It was growing perfectly until this past spring when 1 major branch basically died on the tree and produced no leaves. In addition the entire tree appears to be breaking out of it's bark cracking up and down the entire tree. Besides the one major branch that is dead and cut off now, perhaps another 10 to 15 percent of the tree is missing leaves on branches. The tree is about 7 feet tall, and I question if it will be alive next year. We live in Queens NY.
Thanks,
Dan

Answer
Hi Dan,
Thanx for your question.  I'm not a tree expert but it sounds to me like you may have a verticillium wilt problem or the tree has been stressed from not enough water.  In any event, lop of the dead branches and make sure you sterilize the loppers after each cut with a 10% bleach solution so you don't spread the disease.  Hopefully, this will arrest the disease.  Make sure the tree does not get stressed out from lack of water next year.  Also, you should start feeding it a balanced fertilizer rated for trees available at your local nursery or DIY store.  This type of fertilizer often comes in the form of spikes that release the fertilizer slowly into the ground.  Do not feed trees until they have leafed out in late April or early May in your area.  I hope this helps.
Tom