Acer - not looking too good.

[maldivemoment]

Hi folks

Clueless re gardening so hoping for some advice.

On holiday last week during warm temperatures. My folks watered the garden on a number of occasions however they were only here during the day so most likely watered the plants while the sun was blazing!

The acer I have in a pot is now looking decidedly worse for wear. The bottom half doesn’t look too bad but the leaves nearer the top are looking shrivelled/discoloured. Could this be overwatering? Too much sun while we were away? Being watered while the sun was out?
I also have a potted rose in a similar situation.
Sigh…

I’ve moved it to a more shaded area for now. Any words of wisdom?

Thank you

Acers are beautiful but they are temperamental buggers. Too dry, too much sun, in a windy spot?

Can't help but watching as have similar issue, though the leaves have pretty much fallen off ours now, hopefully it will come back next spring.

@Charlieiscool

Argh! I had no idea they were temperamental! 😩Up until now it’s been thriving.

I have several Acers and just want to reassure you that it will rover. Don’t be tempted to da any pruning or feeding. The leaves damaged leaves will drop on and will be replaced with fresh ones

Recover not rover

I hope you understand my message. I have a fractured shoulder so have difficulty typing

I think they need to be planted in ericaceous soil which is acidic rather than normal compost

Some info here www.jacksonsnurseries.co.uk/japanese-maple-planting-guide.html

Seconding what @Delphinia says, when I bought mine from the garden centre they recommended ericaceous compost, I planted mine out in the garden so backfilled the hole with that then have been using an ericaceous feed when watering every other week (just use plain water for other waterings every day in the heat)

Mine did this last year, I moved it to a part of the garden that gets sun first and last thing but shaded in the heat of the day, it’s looking stunning this year.

@florentina1 thank you. Should I continue to keep it in the back garden where it’s more shaded/less windy?

@Delphinia off to google ‘ericaceous soil’ 😳

It says in the article They will grow in most soils except very dry, waterlogged or alkaline conditions. A moist yet well-drained, slightly acidic loam rich in organic matter is ideal. Other soils can be enriched with ericaceous compost when planting.

[quote maldivemoment]@florentina1 thank you. Should I continue to keep it in the back garden where it’s more shaded/less windy?

@Delphinia off to google ‘ericaceous soil’ 😳[/quote]
They are definitely happier in Ericaceous soil, just look around the garden centre it’s usually in a pink shaded bag.

But yours is caused by sun burn and heat, so yes keep it more shaded or where it just gets mornings or evening sun. As I said the acer in my pp looked exactly the same as yours this time last year, now look at it.

The wind does the most damage so I would keep it sheltered. Do you know the variety, as some thrive in shade and some in semi shade.

These Acers looked just like yours after some very bad weather but came back well

I got warned last week about watering when the sun is out as hot as it was last week - a friend did it and the water heated up and basically boiled / burnt her plants. We always water in evening to avoid evaporation wasting the water, so haven't had that, but that could have happened. We have had acers though, and they have been pretty resilient, so hopefully it will recover. We also just moved 2 months ago, so took a cutting from our acer a week before moving, and put in a pot- is already about a foot high, so you may be able to that if you fear for the main plant.

Have you checked under the leaves for aphids / black fly things? Our apple tree leaves curled up through an infestation. Think we mixed a vinegar/water spray up and that helped get rid of them.

Thanks all. Lots to go on…

They don't have to be grown in ericaceous soil, they just prefer it. You can give an ericaceous feed once a year and that is fine.

OP - yours has suffered from a lack of water to the tips of the shoots, some scorch, and wind burn. We're heading into late summer now so it may not put out more leaves on those branches this year - it might not think it's worth the bother. The thinnest shoots will probably die back a bit, so just cut them off about 1cm above a live bud if that happens.

Japanese maples are an 'understorey' tree and do best with some dappled shade for at least part of the day, and they are also quite thirsty in warm (and especially windy) weather.

Water transport in plants is driven by what’s happening at the leaf surface. If the air at the leaf surface is dry, it sucks water from the leaf, which draws water from the stem, which draws water from the roots.

Obviously in sunshine a lot of water is going to be drawn from the leaf. It’s less obvious, but the same happens if it’s windy, in the same way that washing dries well in wind. So the effects of wind look the same as the effects of under watering