Japanese Maple Dormant/ Infected

[thomasc96]

Hi all,

My JM seems to be dormant/ infected?

I've had this JM for approx 9m and during I noticed that the soil was like a block - water didn't drain well so I repotted it a month ago (akadama/pumice/scoria/peat moss). It's now 2 weeks into Spring and it hasn't changed since beginning of Winter this year. Could it be something to do with the greying of the trunk? Is there anything I could do to this JM?

In the last image, the back seems to still have some green left

Positioning: Morning sun - midday sunlight

[shibui]

Maybe it is my eyes or maybe the photos are not picking up the colours but most of the trunk looks pretty normal. I can see some dieback in the highest branch but everything else looks OK.
Your background info is really important though. Waterlogging through winter can cause infection. It usually shows up as black bark near the base at my place and shoots sprout then suddenly collapse. Maybe something similar has happened to this one.
I have occasionally saved a Jm with this sort of problem by getting them up off the wet ground and control water but many are already too far gone before the problem is noticed.

Your repot was probably the best thing you could do. Ensure it has good air movement and plenty of sun to deter further fungal infection. After that there's not much else but cross fingers and wait to see what happens. Fungicide treatment would not hurt and there's a small chance it could even help.

Good luck

[legoman_iac]

I can see a few buds, hard to tell if they're getting ready to open up or dried out.

Any chance of closer pics of the buds, you will need to manual focus, if possible.

[dansai]

Looks fine to me. I only have 2 JM as they don't thrive in my climate (warm/humid/short warm winter). One in nursery pot has swelling buds, the one in a ceramic pot hasn't shown any sign of movement. Everything else (tridents/elms/pines/junipers/natives) powering along except for a zelkova. I wouldn't be too worried yet.