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My newly planted Japanese Maple is very unhappy

9 years ago

Hi all,
Recently I had some landscaping done by a reputable nursery. One of the items was a 6' Japanese Maple. It looked great for about one week then things went terribly wrong. The majority of the leaves began to shrivel up despite my conscientious watering.
Sent pics to the nursery owner and was told it was stressed and will not recover until next year. Seriously? That poor guy is right in the front of the house, looking just terrible. Knockout roses also look awful but it's the JM I'm concerned about.
Is there anything that can done to make the tree feel better sooner than later?
I appreciate any input .
Thank you.

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Comments (3)

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Whitelacey
9 years ago
"Conscientious watering" kills more plants than anything else. Most water too much, too often. This will rot the roots resulting in a plant that looks like it needs water. Because it does- the roots are gone. So the homeowner waters more which exacerbates the problem.

Water well and then back off until the soil is just moist.

There also has to be an air exchange at the roots. The pores in the soil must be open to allow air to get to the roots. This cannot happen if the pores are constantly filled with water.

At this point, I would have the nursery (or you) dig it to see if there are any roots left. Or, you can back off the watering and see if it recovers. Most trees will leaf out more than once in a season.

Also, some trees will benefit from shade when they are first planted. If your tree is in full all-day sun, I would try to provide some shade until it becomes established.

Good luck!

Linda
Babka NorCal 9b
9 years ago
Yes you do need to let them settle in, and yes you will know by next year if they are happy. (Keep your receipts). Stress is what is happening to your tree and other plants. They have come from a different growing situation to yours and they need to acclimate. Don't over water. Let the top fews inches dry out before you give them more water. Too much water will cause them to rot and then you have to start all over again. We have 10 of them, some seedlings and some named varieties..for 40 + years here in Silicon Valley.

-Babka
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Looks like transplant shock to me. Was the tree exposed when you transported it home? That can cause a lot of stress and foliar damage. Regardless, it will eventually perk back up once it's had time to settle in and get sufficient water. I would not be too precise about the watering......as often as needed (you will have to test the soil physically)...but applied slowly and deeply. Do not let the soil surrounding the tree dry out but neither keep it overly saturated. Measuring in gallons is not going to cut it :-) And skip the B1 - that's pretty much considered snake oil and is not necessary to assist in establishment. Here is a link that might be useful: the myth of B1
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With the exception of the hydrangeas, all of those are full sun plants and a bit on the droughty side as well. Once the trees grow and fill in more - and that often happens faster than you expect - they will be casting their own shade and those plants will not be very happy. And you do not want to plant something now that will have to be dug up and moved later, disturbing the maple roots when you do. And while it is a totally personal observation, those plants just don't reflect the character of the JM's very well. kaitain4's suggestions are much more in character and kind of the typical JM accompaniments. You could also add hellebores or epimediums to the mix as well.
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
9 years ago
Japanese maples do have an ability to refoliate if something occurs to stress them enough to lose leaves. And I'd assume transplant shock is what's ailing your tree now. Water as necessary and you may be surprised to find the tree producing an entirely new crop of foliage (gently pull off any dried up and shriveled leaves).

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