Soooo......yeah basically ever since I planted this thing in the new "gritty mix", it has gone downhill. ..and fast. It appears to be drying out. Some leaves are actually getting curling and getting crispy. I water every day. .the water goes from the top of the pot and is already draining out the bottom in mere seconds. I watered it around 10 today.it looked bad., I thought..ok..I need to water this even more. So I gave it another drink around 6. Just looked at it again and now it looks like it's straight up dying. I don't get it. Followed the gritty mix directions to a T. It was doing great in the "tiny" black container it was in when i had it for the first two weeks. Now that its in a "proper" mediym, and a large pot..it's dying. It's in shade, outside on my patio. What could possibly be wrong? Someone help! Al?

I have green Japanese Maples close to the foundation of one story house that get direct 10 hour sun or more. They're not under any large tree. The leaves do drop a little during summer heat. But in the fall, they're beautiful deep bright orange. The challenge could be when they're young. Once they're established after 10-20 years, their canopy will shelter the trunk and root. All they need is some latex paint on the trunk to prevent sun burn. I also have one fine leaf bloodgood which is red all year round but doing very poorly. It was planted too close to another J Maple. Japanese maples do not handle root competition too well.

We have a japanese maple approx 15feet tall by 10 feet wide.It's not a bloodgood. I'm not sure of the name.We purchased it two years ago from a nursery.It had a4ft diameter root ball.It has been a beautiful tree up until now.It is now in full leaf and I noticed a main arm approx 3" in diameter that had no leaves at all on it.This was in the center of the tree and the tallest branch. I cut off an extending branch from it and went to a nursery to see what they thought. They thought it was the verticillium wilt disease. I was recommended to prune back the large arm to where the last leaves are still alive. To fertilize it monthly with 6-8-6 fertilizer and hope for the best.The nurseryman looked at the end cut of the branch I took him and noticed a brown ring inside the diameter of the cut. Is there any true way of knowing for sure or any other information you would have? I would hate to lose this tree. Also is this spreadable? I do have a smaller bloodgood in another bed.What should I disinfect my pruners etc I have used around this tree?Any information would be greatly appreciated. Sincerely, Cindy in Canada

Hello! Here are some answers for you. 1. You should not bring newly potted plants inside now. The best thing would be to buy them at the right time for planting. If you're buying online, you can buy now and request that they ship at the right time for planting in your zone. If you must buy now, you can keep your new plants in an unheated garage until the ground thaws and you can plant them. This is likely in mid-late March. However, if it arrives fully leafed out, then you want to protect a JM until the risk of spring frost is past. 2. Emperor 1 is a very nice red maple. I presume the reason you've got it picked out is the common description that it leafs out a few weeks later than bloodgood, and is superior for avoiding late spring freeze. Either way, it's a nice tree. I'm linking you (below) to the Essence of the Tree website 'Maples for Cold Climates'. Maybe you'll see something else that catches your fancy. :*) 3. You're looking for both good orange color and Z5 hardiness. In general, you can look to japonicums for spectacular fall color. There's one called 'Emmet's Pumpkin' that is a fall orange. You should check them all out. 4. If you're buying a named JM, it has been propagated by grafting. My guess about what you're asking about is that some vendors will refer to very young trees as '1 year grafts' or similar wording, which just means that they're very small and tender, (and less expensive than a 1 gallon plant, which is 2-3 years older). It may look like nothing more than a small twig. If you go for a young graft, you'll have to baby it a long for the first few years. If that's something you'd be interested in, go ahead and ask and we can tell you what extra steps you'll need to take. You probably wouldn't want to plant it out in the landscape right away though. I hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Maples for cold climates