Trident maples and Celtis still has green leaves, what should I do?

[NSB001]

Should I just keep waiting? My other Japanese maples have turned and lost there’s. Temps 8-22
Coffs Harbour.

[legoman_iac]

Summer was wetter than usual, my trees have been confused all year since I think. My liquid ambers went fluro red, just dropping now. My Japanese maples still greenish, they'll work it out, I'm not too worried.

If they dropped their leaves early, I'd be concerned.

Curious what others say/experience.

- Daniel

P.S in Sydney here

[shibui]

Individual trees seem to have individual time.
I have a triple trunk fused trident with one trunk that drops leaves and starts growing earlier than the other 2 which suggests genetic rather than environmental difference in timing.
One year I pruned tridents late and they sprouted new shoots just before winter. They did not drop leaves even in our cold winter but the following year everything was normal.
Trident seedlings in the garden here still have some leaves but should drop soon.

It has been suggested that sub tropics is not the best environment for maples but some growers are able to keep them so it is possible.
The best you can do is make sure they are exposed to whatever cool there is and let them go through whatever cycle they need according to the conditions.

[NSB001]

Thank you, will just wait and see how they go.

[Grant Bowie]

What you need to do is precisely nothing. The tree will decide whether and when to drop its leaves. Some Elms keep their leaves all winter, less common/rare for maples to stay green through winter but Weather up your way is different.

Here it is 1pm and 6 degrees above freezing. We have had some minus 6 degrees already and all maples, Elms and Beech are fully deciduous (the Beech are persistent).

Grant

[EdwardH]

I'm in Sydney and I have two Chinese elms growing next to each other. One has lost all its leaves the other has a handful of yellowing leaves. I have a few trident maples, one lost its leaves at the end of April and another lost its leaves a month later. Go figure. I keep 'em healthy and let them do whatever floats their boats.