whats wrong with this tree?

[gordo]

this tree turned like this last October(see pic) I thought nothing of it considering winter was around the corner. the problem is it should have grown back by now. what is wrong? sickness? dead?

 

the tree hasn't changed at all, what you see in the pictures is how it looked last October. no new life has grown.

 

[Stere]

I think it died

 

Scrape the  trunk see if  there any green under the bark?

Edited May 2 by Stere

[gordo]

okay I  cut some of the bark no green just brown

[gordo]

19 hours ago, Stere said:

I think it died

 

Scrape the  trunk see if  there any green under the bark?

 should I scrape and test out a few more areas before calling the "time of death" ? 

Edited May 3 by gordo

[Steve Bullman]

Looks dead to me. The twiggy ends will probably be brittle and snap off easily if so.

Scrape some of the smaller twigs. The green will be easier to see on the thinner bark. Do the same to something else in your garden thats alive just so you know what you should be looking at.

[peds]

Sure go ahead, you can't do the tree any harm at this stage by the looks of it.

 

What was it? Sycamore possibly? 

 

Snip it at ground level, wait and see if it'll coppice.

[gordo]

okay thanks everyone, I'll cut a branch off and peel off some bark in other spots if no green then she's dead. & I think it was a Royal Red Maple tree. previous home owners planted it. they also have a apple tree that so far is good health but the apples are for baking only. 

 

picture is what it looked like when it was healthy. reverse image search came up as Royal Red Maple Tree. 

[peds]

So it looks like you've got juuust enough space to knock it over, shouldn't be a big job for anyone to take it down for you. Depending on what specific cultivar it was it might coppice just fine, if it's only dead from the waist up, and not below the belt... but it could be a goner altogether. 

 

Either way, you need to get it removed, it'll become more of a hazard every day that passes. If you're at all interested in having it grow back, just mention to whoever gets rid of it for you that you'd like it coppiced and they'll leave the stump in the right condition for it.

 

I actually removed one in my own garden to let a digger through 2 years ago, it's come back just fine. I'll get a picture later. It was winter, I assumed it was just another sycamore.

 

Edit to add photo: some coulorful mini maple, anyway. 

 

Edited May 3 by peds

[gordo]

I think it's safe to say it's a goner. the wife is not happy about the situation it did provide a huge shady area in our big yard but ill let her know its a possibility that it could grow back. thanks for the tips 👍

Edited May 3 by gordo