Help my Acer!

Hello,

Please can anyone point out what is wrong with my acer? One of the branches where the trunk forks has gone black. Not sure what this is. It is planted in a north facing spot (still gets plenty of morning and early afternoon sun). I treated it early spring, 3 or 4 times with soap/neem oil mix because of ants & black/green fly. Not sure what is causing this though ☹️

regards
GF

 

Hi . The trunk looks very wet? Is that sap leaking or have you watered the trunk/tree? Its a little blurry, but it looks like it could be rot? Or some sort of damage. However the leaves look quite healthy on both sides. When did the dark area appear?
Im not sure there's much you can do though if it is rot or damage, there's no where you could cut it that would be back to healthy wood. If it was mine I would leave it, and see what happens.
If you have watered the tree, try to water only the base, if it is rot you don't want it getting wetter!

 

Are the leaves on that branch looking healthy?
If they are, then just see if the mark rubs off with a damp cloth. It could be sooty mould where a fungus has been utilising honeydew from the aphids.

 

yes I was watering the garden when I noticed it

 

Yes, leaves seem healthy enough for now ! I’ll give the damp cloth a go, thanks