Help with Acer palmatum

[Andrew F]

Gday guys,

I air layered a maple in half earlier this year, and since then the parent 'tree' hasnt looked so good, I'm torn between:

A: Shock from being layered and then thrown in the ground.
B. Too much water in its new spot.
C: Leaf burn.

What do you guys think?

In the ground, an old vege patch, the trunk and nebari:


The worst looking leaves i could find:




New growth copping it:


New growth without it, great sign but im afraid it succumb to it as well


And yet the layered half is powering along:




Thank you in advance guys and happy easter.

[Trent McKenzie]

my guess is poor soil quality? you mentioned an old veggie patch, it is possible that the veggies grown there have depleted the nutrients in the soil, maybe

[Andrew F]

my guess is poor soil quality? you mentioned an old veggie patch, it is possible that the veggies grown there have depleted the nutrients in the soil, maybe

I doubt it mate, it is very nutrient enriched maybe too much for this tree?!?! Thank you though gave me something else to think about, maybe even soil pH.

[dragon]

question 1 is the tree still in same location
question 2 is ti being fed the same as the other one
question 3 is it hotter in the spot where it is now
the only reason i ask is the leaves look like wind burn and also could have a lack of food or water either way i think you need to look at the 3 things i have stated
cheers dean ( dragon )

[Andrew F]

You've got a point Deano, it is exposed to the dry westerlies more now than it was in its original spot.

Its either burn of some sort or too much water. Question is what can i do for the tree if anything?

[dragon]

try shade cloth on tomatoe stakes to shelter it from the winds
and lower your watering regime
cheers dean (dragon)

[Trent McKenzie]

May I suggest these cuts once you have the tree growing with vigor.


Trent.

[Andrew F]

May I suggest these cuts once you have the tree growing with vigor.


Trent.

Hi trent, Thanks for the virt but i was hoping to get a nice and simple twin trunk upright but for now its a matter of keeping alive once iv found out what is wrong.

[Luke308]

I'm no expert, but I'm not sure if that branch is low enough to be classed as a twin trunk. What do others think?

[stick]

i would do what trent has said cause 1 the main trunk will thicken 2 by the looks it will have a double trunk but thicker so they join nicer which is better, by the way im new to the site so hello

[Andrew F]

Thanks for your concern guys but the styling of the tree is too far ahead in time for me to worry about.

Anyone know whats going wrong with my maple?

[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi VSL, I think you might be a bit far to the north to be disturbing Acer palmatum roots mid season and changing the trees growing environment too much. The damage appears to be mainly cosmetic, you seem to have plenty of healthy buds for next year, my advice is to live with your losses for this season water only whan required and see what happens in the spring. From what I can see, the soil in the veggie patch is very lean and could really use an application of well rotted compost and some mulch to protect roots, retain moisure and regulate soil temperature.

Cheers,
Mojo

[Craig]

I was thinking the same as Mojo, why did you take it from pot to ground at this time of year,. i wouldn't be too concerned about the leaves, spring should see the tree come good.

[Andrew F]

Hi VSL, I think you might be a bit far to the north to be disturbing Acer palmatum roots mid season and changing the trees growing environment too much. The damage appears to be mainly cosmetic, you seem to have plenty of healthy buds for next year, my advice is to live with your losses for this season water only whan required and see what happens in the spring. From what I can see, the soil in the veggie patch is very lean and could really use an application of well rotted compost and some mulch to protect roots, retain moisure and regulate soil temperature.

Cheers,
Mojo

Hi Mojo,

Thank you for your time. After digging up the corn and tomatoes, me and my pop laid a layer of mulch then covered that with the earth we dug up, which is 80-90% sand at best. I hope you are right, because i noticed alot of buds.

Is an emergency defoliation out of the question, if worst comes to worst, the best answers i can find are pruning effected leaves then monitor from there.

[Andrew F]

I was thinking the same as Mojo, why did you take it from pot to ground at this time of year,. i wouldn't be too concerned about the leaves, spring should see the tree come good.

Hi Craig, it was complacency on my behalf. Thank you for your thoughts mate.