Acer suffering possibly from Verticillium wilt.

The_novice_gardener

Hi, 
I have a small Japanese acer which I removed towards the end of last year from a pot to the garden. I noticed about a month ago that the leaves on one side were wilting which I put down to wind scorch but now fear that it could be something more serious as some branches are black and generally not looking very healthy at all.
Any ideas what might be the problem?
Many thanks 
Simon

Helix

Oooh errr, looks a lot like verticillium wilt.  We have it in one bed and it has killed a witch hazel, acer, cotinus and several small things.   Cut a dead stem, and if it has classic brown staining then looks as if you might be out of luck.