Worried, is this Jap. Maple normal?

[winniway]

New to forum and to this tree in the backyard of the house we bought recently. It looks super healthy on the bottom 2/3 but then the top ends don't have any leaves are they dead, it is sick? Can I do anything about it?
[/img][img]https://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x371/winniway/DeadEndsatthetop.jpg[/img]
a[img]https://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x371/winniway/GreenBranches1.jpg[/img]nd the bottom branches are green, is that normal too?

[Hortman]

Hello winniway. Ken here in the Chicago area. Sorry to see your maples looking
like that. Have you been in your new home all spring? The reason I ask is did the
tree leaf out on top at the beginning of spring and then fall or did it never leaf out
on top at all? Looking at the top picture you can see that there are no leaves above
the roofline. This suggests a wind problem. Japanese maples do not like wind. They
have too many leaf edges to lose moisture from. Have you had a lot of wind this spring?
Has it been dry lately?
Other than wind, the problem could be something else. If you can, cut down one of the
dead branches into healthy wood. Examine it for holes in the bark or cankers. Scratch
the bark up near the top to see if it is still green and viable. Keep scratching on down until
you reach good wood. Take a piece of the branch with both good and bad wood into your
local County Extension Agent or the local arboretum for advice. Let me know what answers
you get. Good luck.