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I live in the UK and I have a very large maple tree in my garden and just noticed it has white spots on the trunk and some branches.

Any idea what it could be and what I can use to cure it?

Thanks!

enter image description here enter image description here

kevinskio
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Maria
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  • It might be harmless lichens, or it might be a serious fungal disease. Scrape some of it off and take pictures of before and after so that the experts here have something to work with. – Graham Chiu May 30 '16 at 21:15
  • Thanks Stephie. Just posted the pics. Could not find how to do it from the app ;o) – Maria May 30 '16 at 21:17

1 Answers1

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Most likely horse chestnut scale, common on large and small Acer varieties in the UK, as well as lime and horse chestnut trees. Although it's unsightly, on large trees it's impractical to treat, and won't kill the tree anyway. On smaller trees, you can use disposable cloths moistened with a little methylated spirits to rub over the affected woody parts, rubbing off the scale, then using a cloth moistened in ordinary water afterwards, but this is difficult to do on ridged bark, though works well on smaller Japanese maples. More info below, with image so you can confirm (or not) that this diagnosis is correct

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=650

UPDATED ANSWER

Now you've posted a photo, that confirms horse chestnut scale.

Bamboo
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  • Yes, just saw the link you sent and that is definitely it. Never had a large tree before so got a bit alarmed when I saw it for the first time. Thanks so much for the useful info!! – Maria May 30 '16 at 21:25