New spring japanese maple leaves are wilting/dying
driin
15 years ago
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staceybeth
15 years agoarbormike
15 years agoRelated Discussions
HELP! Japanese maple yellowing leaves and dying
Comments (14)Based on the additional info, I'm going to guess you have a combination of fertilizer burn and sun burn. I think there's a couple of things going on here. Container culture is very different than planting in the ground, and even If planted in the ground I wouldn't plant a Japanese Maple in a mixture of 50% compost. My guess would be your tree was showing signs of fertilizer burn from the compost, and the high temps aggravated your already stressed tree. I believe I remember reading that when nutrients are too high in the soil, a plant isn't able to absorb water from the soil. With the high temps the tree needed even more water but couldn't get it due to the nutrient imbalance. At this point, if I'm right, I think your only option is to get the tree out of the compost mixture. Did you bare root the tree when you repotted or did you pot up ( ie take the tree out of the pot, loosen the out side roots and pot into the large container placing the compost mix around the existing mostly intact root ball? Reason for asking is, if you only potted up you can likely plant the tree in the ground for this year or pull the plant out of the compost mixture and pot up using a soil with similar soil characteristics as the soil in the root ball. Be careful and try not to disturb the roots any more than necessary. You're getting late in the year to be potting up but leaving the tree in the compost is likely to do more harm. Also keep the roots moist as best as possible during the procedure. If the roots dry out, they'll die and cause even worse problems. The tree should be moved to a shady area protected from wind, after or during the pot up/planting, until it begins to improve. Also a note on full sun, some cultivar of Japanese Maples are listed as capable of being planted in full sun. This is a misnomer because full sun in Japan, western Washington, or even in the north east is different than full sun in California, Texas or Georgia. Although some of the Sango Kaku's are among the more tolerant of sun exposure when planted in the ground, I've read many examples of these trees showing sun exposure stress symptoms when in hotter climates in containers. Hope this helps, and also hopefully one of the others will come along and correct me if I've given information that's too far off the mark. PS The above recommended procedure would only be a temporary fix. Next spring, just as the buds begin to swell, the tree would need a full repot into an appropriate container medium if you wanted to put it back in a pot or keep it in a pot which ever the case may be. Blake...See MoreJapanese Maple aratama - leaves crisping, wilting and falling
Comments (13)Thanks for all responses. I'm beginning to think that maybe some of the damage is due to a day or two of heavy rains and winds. Even though the tree is under an overhang so did not get direct rain, there was definitely major winds. I should have moved it out of that area. The tree is planted just as it was in it's previous pot from the nursery except for in a larger pot. In terms of leaves slightly curling downwards instead of being flatter, does this usually mean too little water or too much? Or could this all be a reaction to too much daily wind? There is a slight breeze throughout the day, but nothing crazy. there is a lot of pollen from a nearby avocado tree that has collected all over the leaves. If, and this is what I am hoping it is, the damage is from the storm in tandem with the shock of being newly potted, would it be a good idea to prune off the dead leaves and dry twigs that have appeared? a lot of the dead/dying leaves are in clusters underneath other branches of leaves (sort of internal to the structure of the tree's foliage). I checked all the way down into the container to make sure of drainage again, and the soil is barely moist, so I really don't think it's too much water. We do have very alkaline water here in southern California. I was told to use rose or azalea food to help replenish the acidity in the soil, but didn't plan on using that for several months since the tree was just repotted. I'd like to post images of the tree, just need to figure out how!...See MoreNew Japanese Maple Dying
Comments (5)Hi, If your maple was kept in a shaded area at the nursery and then you brought it home and placed it in a place that got more direct sun it could have caused the damage. Plants are like us in that if we stay in the office during the week and then decide to go to the beach we'd sunburn. Same with plants. Whenever you decide to move your plant from a shady area to an area that get more direct sunlight you need to do it gradually. I don't think your problem would be root rot from too much water. It takes a while for something like this to manifest itself. It could be what I mentioned above or it could be from too little water. Remember Japanese maples like a regular watering schedule with moist, but not wet soil. It may have been from fertilizer burn, but you'd really have to over do it with organic ferts., but it doesn't take much with chemical ferts high in nitrogen. Maples aren't heavy feeders so go easy on the fertilizer. I use liquid organic ferts for my potted maples and use only 1/4 to 1/2 the dosage every other watering or so. Layne...See MorePlease help!! Japanese maple quickly dying
Comments (3)A very rapid decline such as you describe is often the result of verticillium wilt. VW is a very opportunistic disease pathogen and can infect trees that are under stress. It may very well be that the earlier storm disruption was enough to stress the tree to the point the disease was able to invade, even though it appeared to rebound well. The only way you will know for sure is to take representative samples of the tree to your local extension office for diagnosis....See Moredriin
15 years agoarbormike
15 years ago
Lena Matteson
4 years ago
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