Welcome to My weekly series! ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs CELEBRATING 26 YEARS! Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc. for the last 25 years. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany, an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects. Linda.... We planted our Red Maple about 10 yrs. ago and never had an issue. This spring, we noticed that just some of the leaves were emerging and most of the limbs didn't have any leaves. The tree started producing healthy leaves, but they were developing very close to the trunk. There are new limbs growing, but they are vertical to the trunk. There has also been a spit in the trunk over the last couple of years. My neighbor has a Red Maple fifteen feet from mine that appears healthy. Please advise... Richard Hi Richard, Your photo shows a very stressed tree. My first observation is the base of the tree is buried too deeply in the soil. The sides of the trunk go straight down into the soil like a toothpick. There should be a noticeable flare at the base of the tree above the soil line. A deeply buried tree is a tree that is suffocating because the roots are so far below the soil surface. My second observation is the large, open wound on the trunk. Water and insects can penetrate the inside of the tree and cause damage and stress the tree more. The leaves growing along the stem of the tree is a last-ditch effort from the tree to stay alive. Sorry, but the tree needs to be replaced. Sprigs & Twigs best EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO: info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie, Sprigs & Twigs Inc, PO Box 245, Gales Ferry, CT 06335 SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR! Welcome to My weekly series ! ASK PROFESSIONAL Linda K. Lillie of Sprigs & Twigs CELEBRATING 26 YEARS ! Linda K. Lillie has been President of Sprigs & Twigs , Inc. for the last 25 years . She is a graduate of Connecticut College in Botany , an accredited NOFA Organic Land Care Professional , a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national award winning landscape designer for her design and installation projects . Linda .... We planted our Red Maple about 10 yrs . ago and never had an issue . This spring , we noticed that just some of the leaves were emerging and most of the limbs didn't have any leaves . The tree started producing healthy leaves , but they were developing very close to the trunk . There are new limbs growing , but they are vertical to the trunk . There has also been a spit in the trunk over the last couple of years . My neighbor has a Red Maple fifteen feet from mine that appears healthy . Please advise ... Richard Hi Richard , Your photo shows a very stressed tree . My first observation is the base of the tree is buried too deeply in the soil . The sides of the trunk go straight down into the soil like a toothpick . There should be a noticeable flare at the base of the tree above the soil line . A deeply buried tree is a tree that is suffocating because the roots are so far below the soil surface . My second observation is the large , open wound on the trunk . Water and insects can penetrate the inside of the tree and cause damage and stress the tree more . The leaves growing along the stem of the tree is a last - ditch effort from the tree to stay alive . Sorry , but the tree needs to be replaced . Sprigs & Twigs best EMAIL OR MAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO : info@sprigsandtwigs.net or Linda Lillie , Sprigs & Twigs Inc , PO Box 245 , Gales Ferry , CT 06335 SPRIGS & TWIGS VOTED THE BEST BY DAY READERS EVERY YEAR !