Help.. Japanese Maple Acer.. dying??

thedudleys · May 2020

Hi all. I do hope someone can help.

This has been planted for just under 2 weeks.

It's leaves are turning brown at the ends.

Is this normal? Will it just take a while to settle in?

I gave it fertilizer that said it was for this exact plant.

Thanks for any help

Fairygirl · May 2020

It's transplant shock really, and if you had the recent dip in temps, that will also have affected it, causing a little damage to new, soft growth. Drying winds also cause that.

Whatever you do, don't keep feeding it, just make sure it's well watered if you have no proper rain in your forecast for the next week or two. Give it a canful of water, then leave for a few days- not a dribble every day. Thorough watering means the ground is properly soaked, and the roots get down to establish correctly, making the plant more able to access water itself in future.
A mulch of bark is useful after a good watering, or just some more compost if you have it, to help retain the moisture.

It'll recover, assuming the ground was nicely prepped to start with.

thedudleys · May 2020

Thank you. I think you're right. Being totally new to any form of gardening. We've given it a sprinkle each day. But not a soaking. Then leaving it.

Thank you very much for helping me out. I'll post back in a couple of weeks and let you know if it's dead or alive!

Fairygirl · May 2020

I hope it comes away ok for you. It looks like quite a sizeable specimen, and that's always a bit harder for establishing, and the recent weather almost everywhere has just made it a wee bit harder again.

Don't worry - it's a common mistake with the watering. Most of us have done the same when we started out

rebeccamM6CA_Gn6 · May 2020

Is it in a very sheltered spot? I always find that wind can dry the leaves out pretty badly! I lost an acer years ago to that...first stage were crispy leaves! good luck!

rachelQrtJHBjb · May 2020

I was told by a head gardener that the acers offered at surprisingly low prices in supermarkets, etc., have been grown too rapidly by not allowing them a dormant season. Ones grown properly would have a growing season, a dormant season (autumn/winter) and another growing season. Without allowing them to have a rest these attractively cheap plants are almost exhausted before they start and often fail.

Overnight frosts of late will scorch young growth - just as they have my hydrangeas and persicarias. If the plant is not in a sheltered area the wind can also dry the leaves.

thedudleys · May 2020

Who knew this about the wind?

I think maybe that's what killed the bayleaf plant. I'll post that separately.

It's in a sheltered ish area.

Yes I think it was great 'value' so may well be exhausted.

Fairygirl · May 2020

It doesn't mean it won't thrive, given the right care

They do grow slowly too, so just keep up the watering, and let it do it's thing.
Lack of water at specific times, is the most common problem with frazzled foliage though. This year has certainly proved difficult for many acers, but they can come away again.
If you add frost and wind in, it certainly doesn't help, but most will recover and do well enough. We have the perfect climate for them here, but if you don't have that, it doesn't mean you can't succeed.

I didn't realise you'd bought it in a supermarket. I'd never buy one from anything but a reputable supplier. It's always more difficult.

Help.. Japanese Maple Acer.. dying??

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