09/03/2026
This summer you may have noticed an increase in shriveled dried and browned leaves on your local Norway maples. ๐ Arborists throughout the region have observed this same landscape-wide trend.
๐ฆ A very wet spring, combined with some heat spikes this summer has been the perfect recipe to increase the prevalence and impact of fungal pathogens that impact Norway maples in particular, both anthracnose and tar spot (๐๐ฉ๐บ๐ต๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ข ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฏ๐ถ๐ฎ). While these fungal pathogens are usually only an aesthetic nuisance, the climate this year was enough to create the perfect conditions for them to proliferate, impacting trees to the point where they are losing their leaves prematurely.
๐ Typically this causes no long-term harm to the tree, and leaves will grow back again next spring. If the tree in your yard is impacted, consider removing your leaves to an off-site compost pile to reduce local prevalences of tar spot fungal bodies.
