Any Japanese Maple (tree) experts Thread #2

[Scooby074]

Ugh.. Im having pretty crappy luck with japanese maples lately.

First one had a big scar on the trunk and was exchanged for one that has a nice clean trunk and nice leaves. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/general-lawn-garden/279752-any-japanese-maple-tree-experts.html

Now I have that second tree planted. It was growing great. Nice leaves. seems to be firmly rooted. However in the last 3-5 days something has happened.

The leaves have all curled up. They arent brown, nor can i crumple them up like a dead leaf. They still have red colour. There are a few leaves that are partially brown, but they were from frost damage early in the year. I just left them instead of pruning.

What went wrong? How can I save this tree? Im getting a reputation at the greenhouse as a tree killer!

Weve had a lot of rain lately. Any days without rain, I usually watered. Is it insects, or my brown thumb. Pic #5 is a nice clear closeup. There looks like a spider web? Can you see something im missing?

Heres a couple pics:

 

[DT86]

You mention watering any day it doesn't rain, I wonder if that is a bit too much water?

 

[Piston]

This is probably a stupid question, but have you checked to make sure you have the right type of soil for growing these Maples?

 

[Scooby074]

You mention watering any day it doesn't rain, I wonder if that is a bit too much water?

Im not sure!
I didnt flood it, i know that. But we have had mucho rain lately. Nursery told me to make sure I watered it every day.

 

[Scooby074]

This is probably a stupid question, but have you checked to make sure you have the right type of soil for growing these Maples?

We do have a lot of clay here. When I planted it however I excavated 2x the pot diameter X 1.5x pot height as instructed. I then mixed in bought potting soil with the soil from the pot and added some bone meal. So there is no clay soil near the plant

Those were the instructions from the greenhouse.

Jap maples do grow OK here. Many people plant them.Im just having no luck at all!

 

[troutsqueezer]

Did you plant in sun or shade? Where was the tree kept before you bought it? Might be in shock if the change was too drastic. May very well put out some new leaves when it recovers.

 

[Scooby074]

Did you plant in sun or shade? Where was the tree kept before you bought it? Might be in shock if the change was too drastic. May very well put out some new leaves when it recovers.

The tree was in full sun at the nursery. It's full sun here.

It's been planted for about 3-4 weeks now I guess. It did appear to be doing fine until this leaf curl hit.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

I have more than a few red maples about 60 ,Never added potting soil when planting them i suggest you do a little investigation by digging near the tree and actually looking at the amount of moisture at the root level your tree looks dehydrated/shocked to me .

 

[Scooby074]

I have more than a few red maples about 60 ,Never added potting soil when planting them i suggest you do a little investigation by digging near the tree and actually looking at the amount of moisture at the root level your tree looks dehydrated/shocked to me .

Dehydrated? interesting. Weve had tons of rain.

Something that may or may not matter, Ive been driving the tractor close to this tree very frequently over the last 1 week while ive been doing some landscaping and putting in a patio. Could this have an effect?

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Dehydrated? interesting. Weve had tons of rain.

Something that may or may not matter, Ive been driving the tractor close to this tree very frequently over the last 1 week while ive been doing some landscaping and putting in a patio. Could this have an effect?

I'm leaning towards shocked ,I've grown some of my trees from seed and they don't like being moved around , I have killed some beautiful ficus trees I had at my house in Florida just by moving them from one side of the pool to the other .