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Japanese acer

jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
in Problem solving
Can anyone tell me if there is any hope for my acer? 

Posts

  • BlueBirderBlueBirder Posts: 212
    Are the stems still green under the bark? If so, maybe - the only thing to do is wait and see though! How long have you had it? Is it recently pruned? 
  • UffUff Posts: 3,199
    It looks a bit rum and no mistake @jomcbride1979
    If it were mine I'd put it down to a learning curve and replace it. 
    SW SCOTLAND but born in Derbyshire
  • jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
    Had it maybe 2/3years never seem to thrive. Changed compost to ericaceous thinking that might help but didn’t . I did scrap a bit of bark and some is green underneath some not 
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    By now, if you are in a milder part of the country, your plant should be at budding stage or actually leafing.  I suspect it has been exposed to cold, wind or too much water over winter and has suffered because of this.  If there is no sign of green tissue below the bark when you scrape the main stem with your fingernail, I'm afraid it's time to look for a replacement.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
    I did prune it recently taking off some dead material thinking that might help it 
  • jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
    In Northern Ireland and have had a lot of storms lately ..there is some green in parts but not all
  • jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
    Would putting it in pop up greenhouse help?
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    edited April 2022
    If you want to persevere, wait and see what happens over the next four weeks, making sure that your plant is not exposed to too much wind, sun or overwatered.  Raise the pot up on pot feet or something similar to ensure adequate drainage too.  Some acers can be quite delicate when kept in a pot, I put mine in the ground when it became unhappy and it fared better.

    Edited note - Just seen your most recent note which appeared while I was typing mine - I wouldn't put it in a greenhouse now that the weather is warming up, just somewhere out of the wind, rain and shaded.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • jomcbride1979jomcbride1979 Posts: 10
    Ok thanks…wonder should I try and put it in ground to see if the might help?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I doubt that will ever recover. Putting it indoors won't make any difference, and could make it worse.
    If its never thrived, I think that's telling you something. 
    They need moisture, but they also need good drainage. If it's been sitting in waterlogged soil, it won't have helped. In a pot long term, it needs a soil based medium, not just compost too. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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