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acer plant

gallini784gallini784 Posts: 3
in Plants
Hi i have had this Acer plant for years, it seems to do ok then it just like goes like its dying, is changing the pot going to make a difference its terracotta, and tips on feeding it. Thank you in advance. iam an early learning gardener..

Posts

  • gallini784gallini784 Posts: 3
    Hi it has been in that pot for 7 years, i think i may change the pot,  must try some feed thanks for the tips.
  • Joy*Joy* Posts: 571
    I would remove the top layer of moss(?) and put some new compost on it. Be careful not to chop into its roots and keep it watered and in a sheltered spot. It looks to be in very good condition. I had a very difficult time changing a terracotta pot on a camellia which had only been in the original for 18 months, after it had flowered. The fine roots must have penetrated the pot and even going around the edge with a bread saw didn't release it! I still have the scars! Perhaps waiting until autumn might be easier. It's in a good deep pot and you will need to find one as deep or deeper. Have you thought of planting it in the ground?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited July 2020
    It's probably pot bound and hungry and thirsty.  For now, remove all that moss and gubbins at the top and then give it a good soaking and maybe a feed for leafy plants but not much or it will then produce soft growth that won't have time to ripen and harden before winter  Keep it watered for the rest of the summer.

    If you really can't plant it in that are ground behind, give it a bigger pot.  Doesn't need to be much deeper but does need to be wider.  Either way, you will need to soak it all thoroughly and use an old bread knife round the edges to loosen the pot from the roots.

    If it can go in the ground it will be happier as its roots will be able to go and seek nutrients and water so prepare a hole slightly deeper and twice as wide as its current pot and improve the soil with well-rotted manure.   Tease out the roots of the acer so they are encouraged to head out rather than go round in circles as they will be in that pot.  Backfill the hole with the improved soil and water thoroughly.

    If it has to stay in a pot, make sure its new pot has some crocks in the base and use good quality John Innes no 3 type compost mixed with one third MPC.   leave a space an inch or two deep at the top to allow for a mulch and regular, thoroughly watering.    Plant it at the same level as before, water thoroughly and give it a mulch of pebbles, expanded clay pellets, chipped slate to help retain moisture.  Feed it every spring with a dollop of slow release fertiliser.
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  • gallini784gallini784 Posts: 3
    Joy* said:
    I would remove the top layer of moss(?) and put some new compost on it. Be careful not to chop into its roots and keep it watered and in a sheltered spot. It looks to be in very good condition. I had a very difficult time changing a terracotta pot on a camellia which had only been in the original for 18 months, after it had flowered. The fine roots must have penetrated the pot and even going around the edge with a bread saw didn't release it! I still have the scars! Perhaps waiting until autumn might be easier. It's in a good deep pot and you will need to find one as deep or deeper. Have you thought of planting it in the ground?
    Thank you..
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