Maple Leafs falling off tree by the hundreds - Ask Extension
Our deck is looking like mid October -covered with lots of maple leaves. Blowing it three or four times a day for past couple of weeks. As the pictur...
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Maple Leafs falling off tree by the hundreds #941387
Asked August 03, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT
Our deck is looking like mid October -covered with lots of maple leaves. Blowing it three or four times a day for past couple of weeks. As the pictures show the leaves appear as though they are from a healthy pruned branch and have just dried out.
It appears they are from one tree off of different branches.
Should I be concerned? If so what should I do?
Antrim County Michigan
Expert Response
Hello,
I am not able to make a diagnosis based on this photograph. It looks like it could be either anthracnose, which is a relatively benign fungal disease, or verticillium wilt, which is a serious wilt disease that affects maples (and several other types of trees).
If it is anthracnose, management is not usually recommended, as it does not impact the health of the tree. However, if the tree goes through this several years in a row, it is recommended to spray with a fungicide labeled for this when the leaves are emerging in the spring. Management recommendations are to rake and bag leaves for trash to help prevent reinfection.
If it is verticillium wilt, your only option is to support the health of the tree mainly by watering during dry periods. You can send a sample in to the MSU Plant and Pest Diagnostics (https://www.canr.msu.edu/pestid/) if you want to know what you are dealing with, but there is no cure for this disease.
Read more about these diseases here:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/verticillium-wilt-of-trees-and-shrubs/
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/maple_leaf_blister_and_anthracnose_two_foliar_diseases_that_can_appear_on_s
You may want to take a wait and watch approach, and see what transpires next season. I would recommend raking and bagging the leaves in case it is anthracnose. I would also recommend watering during dry periods to support the general health of the tree.
You may want to get an arborist to take a look at the tree onsite. We always recommend an ISA-certified arborist with extra training. Find one here: https://www.treesaregood.org/Find-an-Arborist
I am not able to make a diagnosis based on this photograph. It looks like it could be either anthracnose, which is a relatively benign fungal disease, or verticillium wilt, which is a serious wilt disease that affects maples (and several other types of trees).
If it is anthracnose, management is not usually recommended, as it does not impact the health of the tree. However, if the tree goes through this several years in a row, it is recommended to spray with a fungicide labeled for this when the leaves are emerging in the spring. Management recommendations are to rake and bag leaves for trash to help prevent reinfection.
If it is verticillium wilt, your only option is to support the health of the tree mainly by watering during dry periods. You can send a sample in to the MSU Plant and Pest Diagnostics (https://www.canr.msu.edu/pestid/) if you want to know what you are dealing with, but there is no cure for this disease.
Read more about these diseases here:
https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/verticillium-wilt-of-trees-and-shrubs/
https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/maple_leaf_blister_and_anthracnose_two_foliar_diseases_that_can_appear_on_s
You may want to take a wait and watch approach, and see what transpires next season. I would recommend raking and bagging the leaves in case it is anthracnose. I would also recommend watering during dry periods to support the general health of the tree.
You may want to get an arborist to take a look at the tree onsite. We always recommend an ISA-certified arborist with extra training. Find one here: https://www.treesaregood.org/Find-an-Arborist
