Dan said: "IME they definitely are prone to crisp up for several years before adapting to a more sunny location. In the majority of cases they survive. You should have been told that shade cloth helps, altho looks suboptimal. I've never known JMs to reject a watering, either unless their feet are constantly wet. No fertilizer. " Dan! You are the first person to agree with the info the nursery gave me - that this tree takes several years to get acclimated to full sun. Everyone else I've mentioned this to just says, "huh? Never heard of that before"... I feel better, it's a reputable nursery, and we are devout customers. I had thought it was better to move a tree during dormancy (under normal circumstances), but sounds like I should wait with this tree, verify there are no diseases present and that it's growing properly, and then move it. Our bigger reason for moving is to replace with an evergreen for privacy, but I'm assuming it will also enjoy the new location in partial shade. Regarding the tree watering, I should clarify. This is what the nursery told me - if you water the tree, and the water runs, so do you. If it soaks in, it needs water. I realize this is pretty basic advice, but I do recall reading these trees don't like too much water. The problem for me is that I have it wedged in a triangular space next to my driveway, and the other angle is next to a concrete walkway, and the other angle is a flagstone walkway, and has a rock border around the perimeter. So, not a lot of runoff from rain, not sure how deep the roots go, or the driveway for that matter, so not sure how much water it's getting with all surrounding concrete. Add to that, de-icer on the driveway in the winter though we do purchase 'plant friendly' de-icer and try not to snowblow on the tree area. And, full sun, with reflection off of the surrounding conrete. Nice tree though, hope we don't lose it. Bloodgood didn't do well for me, but I had it in mostly shade and probably didn't water enough back then when I was an absolute newbie.

I always find it interesting to read the different perspectives of other members. Gardengal, I had to laugh at your response to Ken. I was thinking the same thing, but didn't want to argue as I'm sure everyone else here is far more educated than I on the subject matter, and I do appreciate EVERYONES opinion. LOL. I was watering with a hose 1x weekly for about an hour or so on a slow drip, maybe more during drier weather. I don't typically check the soil, I usually just look to see if it's soaking in or running off as my indicator, but in this case the underplanting of lamium is a total groundcover. In my own admission, I neglected to water it earlier in the season (spring), and it's wedged between a concrete walk, concrete drive, and a flagstone walkway installed in recent years, and surrounded by virginia flagstone as a border, so the tree really doesn't get much "runoff" rainwater. I was told by the nursery that watering it 1x weekly for an hour on a slow drip was probably too much. The bottom line, I think its a combination of too much sun, lack of water, the leaves were first curling on the edges and getting crispy, and more recently dropping after they dried to a crisp. Soil is clay. My bigger question really is can I move this without killing the tree, and I do plan to move it to a shadier area. I don't recall the exact size of the rootball at the time of planting...I believe the tree was a container planting, not a root ball, and it grew nicely last year. To answer questions, the tree was planted early spring last year, if I remember correctly. It did ok last year, but then again we didn't have as dry a summer as this year. My intention is to transplant this to make room for a false spirea shrub which will flourish in full sun. I'm assuming we should dig as wide as possible to avoid knicking the roots. How deep I wonder?

Japanese maple roots are not considered aggressive - they will not damage a foundation in good condition. Placement of a tree close to a structure should be determined by the mature spread of the canopy. A good rule of thumb is no closer than 1/2 the distance of the mature canopy. This allows growth that is unobstructed by limbs brushing the side of the house or roof which could cause damage to both the tree and the structure. 'Bloodgood' is a pretty robust cultivar and can develop a canopy of 20-30' over time. A better placement would be somewhere 10-15' away from the side of the house, or as Bill notes, select a smaller growing cultivar.

I definitely agree that it needs water, and a few things to consider: 1) I planted a bloodgood that got hit by high winds -- a random event, but all the leaves looked like yours. This was back in June. The tree has replaced almost all of these with new leaves, so your tree will come back if it gets some water. 2) If your tree is in a windy spot, and it was wind that caused this, you may have to plant / create some kind of windblock 3) I have read that Japanese Maples can struggle with heat reflection, so if your tree is in full sun, all of those rocks under it are reflecting heat. So, if it is in full sun, it may be "cooking" from both sides. 4) In my experience, the best thing to do is leave the leaves as they are. The tree will take care of itself likely next spring and put on fresh leaves. 5) If you scratch the branches lightly with your fingernail, you will probably find that they are green where you scratch. This means your tree is not dead. If you scratch a branch and it is brown, that branch is dead / dying. 6) Finally, you want the original root ball to be consistently moist, but not wet. Don't arbitrarily water it everyday. Stick your finger in the root ball and see if it is at all dry -- if it is at all dry, then water. Overwatering is not good either and while it can be difficult to tell sometimes, you'll get the hang of it. Good luck