Expert: Jim Hyland - 7/7/2009

Question
all of the leaves on our tree are dead.  I think it is a red maple.  It was here when we bought our home 11 years ago.  About 2 weeks ago, I noticed all of the leaves are dead. Is the tree dead, or should we give it a year to see?
We live in the eastern panhandle of west virginia

Answer
It sounds as if the tree has died. Check to see if it is dead by starting near the end of an upper outer branch and scrape a small bit of bark off the branch if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive. If the color under the bark is brown (not green) then the branch is dead at this point on the branch. If brown continue down the branch scraping at intervals until you find green of reach the main trunk. Try other branches and if no green is found the tree is dead. Sorry!