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My new Acer looks a little sick...(complete beginner)

sven1980sven1980 Posts: 17
in Problem solving

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Hi I'm Sven, I'm new to this forum and pretty much completely new to gardening....

I bought a Acer a week ago or so from a nursery. Although she was looking a little sick I completely fell in love with her so bought her on the spot! I've since re-potted her in ericaceous compost with a bark mulch. Because of her twisted trunk I've staked quite tight (not sure if that correct procedure) ive not given any feed but have watered regularly.

Looking at her I can see what could be possibly be fungus on the trunk, also the leaves look very dark and dried out, some branched don't have leaves at all!.

I want to give her the best chance of survival and to thrive so any help and info would be most appreciated.

Many thanks

Sven

Posts

  • clairegreenlowclairegreenlow Posts: 125

    From my experience with acers so far, they are prone to getting a little 'irritated' when repotting/being planted out. they tend to get affected by leaf scorch fairly easily. We bought one and planted it out last year. It got terrible leag scorch despite our best efforts. But we stuck with it and this year it's looking very healthy and happy. 

    Sometimes it just takes them a while! Similar situation with a couple of others I bought for my mum a few years back that are grown in containers. one even lost most of its foliage. But they are healthy little trees now 

  • sven1980sven1980 Posts: 17
    Doghouse Riley says:

    Lots of people have read your post, so I thought as no one else had I'd chuck in my two penn'oth.

    Not wishing to offend, but your first mistake was buying a demic plant. I'd take it back.

    It could have been "on its way out" when you bought it. Can't fault what you've done with it, I don't think anything you've done would have made it worse.

    They can be affected by scale insect eggs. Our big lollipop acer in our front garden always gets it. I hose it off and spray it with a tar wash in the Autumn and again in Spring, but it still comes back but doesn't do the tree any harm.

    I've never seen it on our Acer Palmatums, one of which we've had for thirty years. But they can get a bit of algae (which I think you might have though it's hard to see in the pictures),  on the trunks and thicker branches, more so on a few azaleas and  quince, but I spray them with Dithane which kills it off although not removing it. I put it down to the fact that we've a 2,500 gallon koi pool so the air around it can be quite damp for much of the time. But again it doesn't harm them in any way.

    Beyond that I can't be of any help

    Last edited: 16 June 2016 16:52:08

    See original post

     No offence take.....

    Just out of curiosity what makes it so 'demic'?

  • sven1980sven1980 Posts: 17

    Yea OK. Thanks for the advice.

  • Kitty 2Kitty 2 Posts: 5,150

    Are you near to Manchester by any chance doghouse? image

    For anyone confused by the northern slang "demic" means broken, worn out or a bit rubbish, basically a duff un.

    Sven: if you paid full price at the garden centre and are not happy with your Acer I would certainly return it and exchange for a healthy specimen.

    If you're going to keep it, I would watch that those ties aren't so tight that they damage the bark. When I get scale insects on mine I rub them off and squish them with a bit of tissue. 

  • Stevo4Stevo4 Posts: 109

    Sven, If you like a challenge and don't mind losing what looks like an expensive plant, then stick with it. I had an acer japonica for years before I gave it away to make space. It was a beauty, planted in clay soil. It didn't like full sun as the leaves 'burn' easily. It didn't need any special care or extra watering. I'd pop it in a dappled shade spot and let it settle down a bit. Don't over water. Keep it out of strong wind too. Give  it a go. If it survives the sense of achievement is huge!image

  • autumngloryautumnglory Posts: 255

    I agree with Claire. I bought an acer early last year and it looked really poorly in the first year. It suffered badly with sun scorch even though it's in the shade most of the day and all of the leaves fell off. It's fine this year, so I wouldn't write yours off yet! 

    As yours is in a pot, I'd move it to a shadier and more sheltered spot to give it the best chance for this year.

  • sven1980sven1980 Posts: 17

    Thanks everyone for your advice....

    I paid £10 for the tree, I know nothing about Acers but I know that was a bargain even though it looked a bit sickly. it was probably on its way out the door, actually I'm certain of it, but I'm not concerned about that. I saw another Tamukeyama Acer today at a local garden centre that was half the size but 5 times the price -  and it didn't look that much healthier than mine! Someone told me to check the conditions of the branches by very carefully rubbing a tiny piece of the bark to see underneath. If it showed green it was alive and ok. I did this and everything seems fine. Some of the leaves are dry and curled up but I think that is possibly too much sun and neglect. It now sits under a Oak tree where it gets 3-4 hours of dappled sun per day, perfect for Japanese maples I've been told.

    I bought it because I wanted to take care of it. I can see beyond its neglected look and actually find it rather beautiful. And as Stevo4 pointed out, bringing it back to full health and seeing it thrive gives great rewards. I imagine that to be very true. But if it doesn't work out at least I can say I tried!

    Thanks again.   

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