skip to main content

Transplanted Maple Trees Losing Leaves Early

12 years ago

Two weeks ago, I transplanted some maple trees. They were leafed out and green at the time with good-sized root balls. A few days after transplanting, the leaves turned red and then promptly dropped off. Is this normal or do I have some sick trees? It rained for a few days after they were transplanted (and a few days before). It has not rained in over a week now.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

houstontexas123
12 years ago
what type of maples? whats your temps been?

i would say a combination of transplant shock, shorter days and cooler temps.
just-me-in-tn
Original Author
12 years ago
Honestly, I'm not sure. I told him I wanted two red, two yellow, and two orange, but all turned red before they dropped leaves. He told me they were two sugar maple, two red maples, and two hybrid maples that I had never heard of. Temps right after they were planted were in the 60/70's day and 30/40's at night. The past few days have gotten closer to 80 with nights in the 50's.

I'm hoping it's not lack of water. I'd have to bucket brigade water them.
Related Discussions
Lace cap hydrangea yellowing and losing leaves after transplant
Q
Comments (3)
I doubt you've done anything wrong to this plant :-) Transplanting a hydrangea in the early part of November is only going to hasten the very natural seasonal yellowing and dropping of foliage. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised to see any foliage left at all. And a bit of spotting on the leaves now is nothing to be overly concerned about either - most likely some combination of transplant, seasonal and/or weather stress. It should be fine come spring. In zone 6 it is a good idea to provide Hydrangea macrophylla with some sort of winter protection to prevent excessive dieback and potential loss of next season's blooms due to cold damage. If you search the archives of this forum, you'll find a variety of posts that discuss this topic and recommend methods.
...See More
Water Maple losing leaves and black spot
Q
Comments (1)
Maybe you have red maple (Acer rubrum), with tar spot fungus.
...See More
Japanese Maple, losing leaves
Q
Comments (1)
To much sun ...too little water...to much water ...likely the either first two or both of the first two ...it also is not unusual for JM's to loose leaves or have tip burn especially in your area throughout the summer if it is hot enough even with well sited trees ...if it is just happening now at the end of the season consider yourself lucky !!!! It should have absolutely no effect on how it will look next spring unless it is diseased then it would likely have dieing branches... not dropping or tip burn leaves ..David
...See More
Sugar maple leaves turning brown right after transplant
Q
Comments (4)
When my 25 foot in the ground for a decade metasequoia needed watered I turned thos hose on low and went to watch a movie or two. Sugar maple doesn't want as much water, then again if you really did plant a 25foot tall tree (I read that right?) It pribably lost some root mass. I suppose the right thing to do is dig into the root mass and test it.
...See More
Mike Larkin
12 years ago
Best time to transplant is after the leaves have dropped.
Have you watered the tree? Trees drop leaves due to stress and lack of water.
Unless there was a long steady rain-- 2" the tree may not get adequate water down to the roots. Get out the buckets!

Water and mulch the tress.
houstontexas123
12 years ago
30s-40s sounds about right for fall leave color change, plus its already october.

but if you're worried about it being too dry, get some bamboo skewers, stick them in the rootball for about a minute. pull them out. if the rootball is moist you'll feel some moisture on the bamboo skewers. if they come out dry, water lightly, b/c this late in the year they've probably gone dormant already.
ilovemytrees
12 years ago
Red Maples like their feet wet, Water them and water them well especially during the establishing period. I water my trees once a week for four hours on the full hose a ways back from the drip line to not mess up the soil and to get the full area wet. It's funny, the area gets saturated, I mean it's a lot of gallons of water(!), but by the time I've put the hose on the tree next to it and walked back, the water has already sunk into the ground, completely disappeared.That's my sandy soil for you. It is literally impossible to over water trees here.

Anyway, I do that once a week and my red maples are doing outstanding, no transplant shock occurred at all. And my October glory that I planted 2 years ago grew 2 1/2 feet this spring and summer. My Red Sunsets grew just less than a foot, but that is because they've only been in the ground 11 1/2 months. None of them dropped leaves early and that is because I kept them well watered. That is basically transplant shock, a tree that is not getting enough water during that critical period following transplanting. Of course it also depends on your soil type. I have sandy loam that is super fast draining.

Related Stories

EARTH DAY The Case for Losing the Traditional Lawn

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Work less, help the environment and foster connections by just saying no to typical turf

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Great Design Tree: Japanese Maple

By Annie Thornton

Lacy form and fiery fall color make Japanese maple a welcome tree for garden or patio

MOST POPULAR 7 Ways to Design Your Kitchen to Help You Lose Weight

By Mitchell Parker

In his new book, Slim by Design, eating-behavior expert Brian Wansink shows us how to get our kitchens working better

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Your Yard: Are You Ready to Lose the Lawn?

By Erin Lang Norris

Save time and water with good-looking alternatives to turf grass

TREES 11 Japanese Maples for Breathtaking Color and Form

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

With such a wide range to choose from, there’s a beautiful Japanese maple to suit almost any setting

GARDENING GUIDES 12 Japanese Maples for a Sunny Garden

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

The right maple in the right place shines in hot summer sun

GARDENING GUIDES 13 Japanese Maples for Shade

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

A surprising variety of these understory trees is waiting to make a statement in your shade garden

FALL GARDENING 5 Ways to Put Fall Leaves to Work in Your Garden

By Therese Ciesinski

Improve your soil and yard the organic way with a valuable garden booster that grows on trees

FALL GARDENING 11 Trees for Brilliant Fall Color

By Marianne Lipanovich

Give your landscape the quintessential look of autumn with the red, orange and yellow leaves of these standouts

TREES Great Design Plant: Acer Rubrum Brings Shade and Beauty

By Ellen Sousa/Turkey Hill Brook Farm

Red maple — a fast-growing, low-maintenance Eastern native — has spectacular fall foliage and early-spring flowers that feed pollinators

Sponsored

More Discussions

Usugumo HTF : Hard to Find

2

Acer First Flame

3

Nursery Container Mediums - Sand ?

0

Scion Height When Grafting

0