Plants in pots for any period of time need a soil based compost such as john innes no 3. Multipurpose compost has few nutrients and will just rot away over time as it is mostly organic matter. It's fine to do a mix of the two!
I was told that red acers need ericaceous compost to maintain their beautiful deep red leaves. Mine started to turn green too. I've just repotted it in ericaceous and fingers crossed it'll regain its red leaves.
The acers losing their leaves might be being attacked by vine weevil. It would be worth turning them out of their pots to see what's going on with the roots, I think. Small off-white c-shaped grubs with a brown head - can kill the tree if they eat enough of the roots.
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
Hi, I came across these posts and I'm interested because I have 5 acers in pots- 2 green and 3 varied red. All looked great last year and especially this spring. However, onered has wilted and I see that another red is rapidly turning green. I've seen the posts about wind and over watering both of which could feature. I have them potted in ericaceous compost. Are we doomed? Larry
My red Acer has been in a large pot for more than 10 yrs. The past couple of years the leaves have started to drop off .I have ended up with some long branches branches with no leaves on them.whats happened?
Posts
Plants in pots for any period of time need a soil based compost such as john innes no 3. Multipurpose compost has few nutrients and will just rot away over time as it is mostly organic matter. It's fine to do a mix of the two!
I was told that red acers need ericaceous compost to maintain their beautiful deep red leaves. Mine started to turn green too. I've just repotted it in ericaceous and fingers crossed it'll regain its red leaves.
Last edited: 21 May 2016 09:16:23
The acers losing their leaves might be being attacked by vine weevil. It would be worth turning them out of their pots to see what's going on with the roots, I think. Small off-white c-shaped grubs with a brown head - can kill the tree if they eat enough of the roots.
Hi, I came across these posts and I'm interested because I have 5 acers in pots- 2 green and 3 varied red. All looked great last year and especially this spring. However, onered has wilted and I see that another red is rapidly turning green. I've seen the posts about wind and over watering both of which could feature. I have them potted in ericaceous compost. Are we doomed? Larry
My red Acer has been in a large pot for more than 10 yrs. The past couple of years the leaves have started to drop off .I have ended up with some long branches branches with no leaves on them.whats happened?