I origanally posted this on the Maple forum, but have yet to receive a response, so I decided to post it here as well.

We purchased our house in 2003. There is a large silver maple in our backyard. I'm not sure if there is a problem or I am being paranoid. It has only started leafing out. I noticed last year it was a bit delayed, but not like this year. It's covered with "helicopters" and very small leaves and all the others in neighboring yards have filled out fully already. Is there something wrong with my tree or is it just a "late bloomer"? We have very clay soil here and I do my best to keep the ground watered, not only for the trees sake, but for our lawn. Could there be a water issue? Too much, too little. Based on how quickly the ground dries out under the tree I find it hard to imagine it could be too much water, but I know absolutely nothing about trees.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks,

Sam