Small tree recommendations

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The acer I planted in the back garden isn't looking too good the soil isn't great (clay) and I'm doubtful that it'll survive. I'm on the verge of digging it out. It's about 7 foot.

What can I plant in its place? I need something tough and happy in poorer quality soil. I need something that will be happy no matter what.

Any ideas?

Amelanchier?

Is it in sun or shade? Exposed or sheltered? How cold does it get?

At home field maples do well whatever you throw at them, and are really quite pretty. I have good drainage though, not sure they would be equally happy in clay.

It's in sun quite a bit and it's reasonably sheltered.

cherry or mountain ash?

Yes, they sound lovely. We have a little cherry in the front garden.

I have an Amelanchier which is doing well

Acers like semi shade and slightly acid soil . But moving a 7ft acer in May is very risky, can you wait until the late autumn ? You'll need 3 stong people to move the rootball

Regarding a replacement - how big do you want it to grow?

I've looked at the leaves and they have some aphids on. Could this be causing the sad leaf state?

Not an expert but I think soapy washing up liquid gets rid of aphids-the tree will probably be ok for a while but needs treated- we had a small cherry blossom that got aphids for a few years & they ruined it so it had to come out, however we have thriving acres in the same area!

We have a purple smoke bush which is effectively a small tree. I've no idea how old it is, but it's quite stunning: purple leaves with a matt look and puffs of flowers in summer (the 'smoke'). The leaves turn rusty orange in autumn. It is deciduous.

Is your acer yellow ? They are more prone to scorch by the sun .

Also there was a late frost recently in England , it could be that .

Or the nasty beasties . I'd spray it and give it another chance . With soap or other organic pesticide

The leaves have scorch around the edges. They're a bit curled up too. I've looked at the other acer trees in the garden centre where it came from and they're the same. I don't know if it's going to make it

It looks greeny yellow and is meant to go orange in the autumn.

Have you just bought it ? How much did you pay for it - larger acers are expensive !!

Can you check the label for its name ?

Label went in the bin. We paid about £50 I think. I'll post a photo tomorrow.

I'm not terribly good at gardening, I should just stick to easy things really

A mountain ash does sound appealing. I had one at the last house and it thrived on pretty poor soil.

If you just bought a £50 plant and now it's dying ( as are all the other ones in the garden center ) , I'd be taking it back for a refund

Sorbus ( mountain ash ) are very tough, I have them in my very exposed garden . You need to get ones of the smaller cultivars , the bigger ones grow to 5-10 m

Don't worry about not knowing about gardening, we all have to start somewhere . Next time write down the name or photograph the label , then you can look it up online and find out what conditions it likes , preferably before you buy it

The information on the back of the label is usually unhelful - they all say " sunny postion in a moist but well drained soil"