Did you get a frost recently? Our crabs are okay but the Japanese Maple looks terrible after a freeze we got.

Hopefully that is all it is and it will pull out.

sure looks like frost or freeze ...

when did it happen ... how long ago ...

ken

Ahh... I think that could be it.

Around 3 weeks ago (or so), we had multiple nights in which we went below 32 degrees F.

At that time I didn’t notice any damage, but I also know it sometimes takes a while before frost/freeze damage becomes apparent

Frost damage shows up in a couple of days, your tree might have some major root issues, pics of the tree please.

I’ll post as soon as I am able- that being said, this tree also has a large opening at the base of it’s trunk and constantly battles (some sort of blight (?)) during the summer- so I could assume it is overall a non healthy tree...

Suzanne- They truly are beautiful trees, I don’t know the variety of the tree as the tree came with the house. It would be incredibly saddening if the tree had to go as it is a habit for many different bird species, squirrels, and the flowers attract (seemingly) millions of pollinators in the spring. I live in a suburban/urban area and thus we need as many habitats for wildlife/pollinators as possible

Here are some pictures of the tree:

^overall view

^the trunk and the “gap”

^inner canopy view

^closer look at the ”Gap”

(Normally, leaves are barely visible thanks to the flower show)

.

is part of the tree regular.. and part weeping???

anyway.. in that micro yard.. you might want to start thinking about removal .. say.. in the next 5 years ... no hurry ..

crabs are subject to fireblight ... i think thats it.. thats what i called it forever.. but others here might call it something else ... but its more of a mid summer thing.. that requires spraying in spring.. i think .. im not sure.. because i just had the tree removed after 5 years of getting more and more pissed off at it ... lol..

there are varieties that are resistant ... but those that arent.. arent really worth the effort ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=crabapple+fireblight&t=ffcm&iax=images&ia=images

Ken- yes, this tree does have a peculiar growing habit and after looking at the pictures and reading about fireblight, I think that’s probably the cause. Just the reading about how this disease caused the flowers to wilt and brown up mirrors what is currently occurring with this tree. We’ll probably give this tree another year or two until we cut it down.

you HAD ... key word there ... a grafted weeping CA ... and water sprouts overtook most of it.. those are the vertical parts ... barely anything of the weeping graft is left ... imo.. another reason to be done with it ...

even if the weeping part is resistant to disease .. the dominant understock apparently isnt ...

this is really starting to piss me off.. and its not even my tree ... lol ..

there was one similar in the area ... it caught my eye.. because it had two flower colors .. and that how i noticed the graft issue ....

ken

i had a pic.. but apparently didnt label it properly.. to find it ...

Yeah, I can see how this tree is....frustrating. We enjoy having a tree in the location in which this crabapple is, so in the meanwhile (before we cut it) ill research for disease resistant cultivars of either another weeping crabapple, or we’ll venture into other weeping, flowering trees