Laura

I received a Japanese maple last July as an anniversary gift. I have never taken care of any plants before, much less a tree. I am definitely a beginner at this! Well, 10 days ago, I noticed bright red buds on my tree. Now, leaves are on the tree and have grown tremendously within the past week, but it definitely does NOT look right. The leaves look wilted, possibly dried out, along with taking on a brown color....I don't know what's wrong with it. I have a few pictures. Please help me!!! I want to save this tree.

Attached Images

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	mytree2.jpg (46.3 KB, 15 views)

Mike423

I'm guessing you had the tree outside or in a shed/garage to stimulate a natural dormancy and have now taken it out? Many Japanese maples have this wilted look (with soft fragile leaves) when first budding out. It usually lasts for a few weeks until the foliage has hardened off. But when you say it seems like its dried out and turning brown that does not sound right. As far as care how is this tree looked after? Where is it kept, is the soil allowed to dry adequately before it is watered etc..? Also if you know what the name of the specific cultivar you own will also dictate a tremendous amount of information on how it should be cared for.

-Mike

Laura

I don't know the name of the specific cultivar. The tree is kept on our back patio and spent the winter in the garage. We water it once a day when we have a few days pass without rain, which is rare this time of year here. I don't feel like soil has had a chance to dry out at all is what I'm saying. Spring weather has just begun here within the past two weeks. But a few times we have put in under some shade when it was sunny or warm to prevent scorching. When I said the leaves were browning, perhaps I was comparing them to the bright red buds. Perhaps they are just darkening. Also, the leaves look dried out, but if touched, they are very soft...not brittle at all. This is my first spring with it so I am unsure of how it's supposed to look, but it sure does look unusual.

treebeard55

Laura, welcome to the forum.

From the pictures, you appear to have one of the "dissectum" or semi-dissectum cultivars. For their leaves to look droopy in spring is not that unusual. But it sounds like your tree's leaves appear to have more going on.

It sounds like it is new leaves which "don't look right," correct? Let me ask a diagnostic question: do the leaves mature fully? Or do they start to wilt and brown before they are fully open and hardened?

If a plant can't sustain its foliage -- if it pushes new leaves and loses them before they can mature and harden fully, over and over -- then the problem is almost certainly in the root zone.

I would check the root condition right away. It may be enough to simply lift the tree from its pot and examine the outside of the soil ball for new root growth. New root tips will be white and plump, and you should be able to see at least a few scattered over the outside of the rootball.

If you do have a good number of new root tips (and they're brittle, by the way,) then the roots are OK. If not, they aren't. In the latter case, two possibilities come to mind.

You may be overwatering. Yes, I said overwatering. Roots need oxygen, as do all living cells on earth (with the exception of a few microbeasties like gangrene.) That means the soil has to dry a bit between waterings, so air can re-infiltrate the soil.

More likely would be poor soil. Either it was poor to start with, or the components have broken down over time and the debris is clogging the pores in the soil, keeping air out and keeping the soil anoxic. Do you know when the tree was last repotted? Is it still in the nursery pot and nursery soil?

Let us know what the roots and soil look like, and we'll help if we can.

__________________
Treebeard 55
Steve Moore
http://hoosierbonsai.blogspot.com

The most important bonsai tool is your brain.

Mike423

Most Nursery stock is at the point (or close to) of being root bound (too much roots not enough pot). When you remove it from the pot if the entire outside is wrapped with roots encircling the pot and there is very little or no soil visible the it is root bound.

When treebeard says you may be over watering I agree and it sounded like this may have been a problem originally. Don't worry its the main problem associated with most beginners and is easily correctable. The soil should be allowed adequate time to dry in between watering (like tree beard said the "roots need oxygen"). The soil should be allowed to ALMOST completely dry with just the slightest tinge of moisture present before watering. The best method is to stick your finger in the soil to at least the first knuckle around the edge of the pot. When it feels moist and near dry but no longer wet its time to water. This method can take quite some time to master and in conjunction with teaching yourself this method i recommend to all beginners to use the chopstick method. This works by placing a chopstick in the soil near the edge of the pot, check it periodically, when its pulled out and appears dry, its time to water. Learn to coincide the feeling with your finger to when the stick is dry and it will help you learn to no longer need the chopstick.

-Mike