Hi everyone,

I am a major novice gardener, so I could really use some assistance with a problem I am having at the moment.

I have an Acer in my garden - about 6 years old and 8ft tall (i dont know the breed, but it is more of an "upwards" grower thank an "outwards" grower).

Anyway, for the last 6 years I have been thrilled with the amount it has grown and every year it has shown an abundance of red and orange coloured leaves.

However, this year the buds appeared in April and have not moved since. It still looks the same as in winter. I have had a look at a few different bits of advice online and thought I would complete a "scrape" test, which came up with some interesting results.

At the bottom of the tree is one main "trunk" which forks about 3in out of the ground into 3 trunks. I have done the scrape test in several places and the trunk is still alive, however 2 of the forks look dead. The other fork is fine until about 3ft from the top where this too looks dead.

I have very few plants and trees that return year on year in my garden, and this was a particular favourite of mine that I would be gutted to lose, so any advice or assistance would be much appreciated.

Sorry if I am using the wrong terminology, but I am desperate for some help!

Many thanks,

Steph