White spots on leaves - Ask Extension
Hello, I have a red lace leaf Japanese weeping maple tree that has white spots on the leaves. This is the trees second year in my yard. It gets aftern...
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White spots on leaves #872597
Asked June 11, 2024, 11:49 AM EDT
Hello, I have a red lace leaf Japanese weeping maple tree that has white spots on the leaves. This is the trees second year in my yard. It gets afternoon sun and only part day sun. I have not added anything into the soil or anything onto the tree as I don’t know what it is. Can you please identify what’s happening and give me instructions on how to fix it?
Butler County Ohio
Expert Response
I am in the process of researching an answer to your question. I have eliminated a few of the possible issues, like anthracnose and powdery mildew. A possible gambit is an environmental cause, like leaf scorch. Here is an article which discusses it.
https://mapleleavesforever.ca/leaf-scorch-on-young-maples/ I have asked a friend to look at your photos and will hear back shortly. There are numerous articles relevant to your question online. Add “Edu” or “extension” to your word search for reliable university based resources. I will write back when I find additional ideas.
https://mapleleavesforever.ca/leaf-scorch-on-young-maples/ I have asked a friend to look at your photos and will hear back shortly. There are numerous articles relevant to your question online. Add “Edu” or “extension” to your word search for reliable university based resources. I will write back when I find additional ideas.
My expert says that the damage to the leaves looks like “chemical” injury. He says “there’s an outside chance it could be “water droplet burn” with the droplets damaging tissue through the lensing effect. It gets afternoon sun which is becoming pretty intense this time of the year. Cutleaf maples are pretty sensitive to this damage.”
More likely there was some type of chemical sprayed nearby with the droplets causing the damage. Was there spray for aphids? Let me know if this helps.
My HOA sprays for weeds I think but they wouldn’t have gotten it on the tree. Outside of that there was no spraying done. Could the spraying my HOA did have affected the leaves?
https://ipm-drift.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/dicamba-and-24-d-fact-sheet-series/overview-dicamba-and-24-d-drift-issues/how-drift-happens There is probably no way to prove that there was drift. You could probably get information from your HOA people about who sprayed and when they did it and where and what they used.. That information might possibly solve the mystery of the damaged leaves.
And in future you might ask them to be more careful when spraying if it seems to have been a cause. However, I cannot tell you with any certainty what caused the damage.
There is one other idea about identifying the cause. That would be to send a sample of the damaged leaves to the Wayne Ellet Plant Pathology Lab which will analyze your sample and give you a report for a small fee. Their website has information on how to collect the sample and how to send it to them with a check. Let me know if you go this route and what comes of it please.
And in future you might ask them to be more careful when spraying if it seems to have been a cause. However, I cannot tell you with any certainty what caused the damage.
There is one other idea about identifying the cause. That would be to send a sample of the damaged leaves to the Wayne Ellet Plant Pathology Lab which will analyze your sample and give you a report for a small fee. Their website has information on how to collect the sample and how to send it to them with a check. Let me know if you go this route and what comes of it please.
