Can I save my Acer?

[TonyThreePies]

I bought a gorgeous Acer at the end of spring and it did really well with the wet summer. I forgot to water it during the dry spell and now it's looking really sorry for itself. Will it come back do you think and is there anything I can do?

I'm guessing that a lot of the leaves have shrivelled up. Look closely at the tips of the branches, and where the leaf stalks join the branches there may well be lots of small new buds forming. If so, then it will be fine. If the branches have no new growth at all and are starting to die back, then it might still be ok. Keep out of strong winds over winter and hope for the best.

@yamadori

I'm guessing that a lot of the leaves have shrivelled up. Look closely at the tips of the branches, and where the leaf stalks join the branches there may well be lots of small new buds forming. If so, then it will be fine. If the branches have no new growth at all and are starting to die back, then it might still be ok. Keep out of strong winds over winter and hope for the best.

Yes, the leaves are very shrivelled up. Will they fall off do you think and new growth replace them? Is there anything I can feed it to make it stronger? Thanks for replying!

No to feeding, a sick plant of any description should not be fed. You just need to keep it watered and I am sure it will recover. Can I ask if it is in a pot or in the ground and how big it is?

Thank you for your advice, I'm so rubbish at gardening.

It's about 3 foot and it's in the ground.

Don't worry if it's in the ground it will most likely be fine. In fact after the first year or so the advice is not to water plants in the ground, except in extreme drought, because it encourages them to root down deeper. It will have grown deeper roots so if you keep the watering up on dry days for now by next year you'll probably find it's really healthy.

I agree that it will be fine in the ground. Unlike many other trees, Acers have very shallow roots so watering, well in spring and summer is good advice. It is a good idea to mulch round the tree this time of year but certainly as we go through autumn and winter it will not need you to water it .

In spring top dress the Acer with ericacaeous compost. I have several Acers and I don’t feed mine, as they are well established if you want to feed them with a specialist Acer feed, do it when the ground is wet.

Acers do lose their leaves - they are deciduous, not evergreen. I've got five and the red ones are already looking fairly shrivelled but the green ones are still pretty fresh looking. If it's in the ground I think it'll almost certainly be fine, you'd need a proper drought for it to affect it really. Also autumn leaf fall will come earlier the further north you are - I'm in the south-west so if you're further north your acer will be ahead of mine for losing its leaves.
Do you want to post a pic of it?
I really love acers, they are wonderful plants.

Thank you for your reassuring posts! It was an expensive purchase at a time I really couldn't afford it but it was so beautiful and there was an obvious gap in my garden that needed filling - I couldn't resist it! Hopefully it will recover.

@heldinadream - I'll try to remember to take a photo tomorrow. Thanks for your post!

@TonyThreePies - one more hopeful post - my father who loves gardening has a red acer with shrivelled leaves and he is not worried. Will water but he is confident it will come back next spring ( it does not usually end up with shrivelled leaves ) So - not an expert but you have someone in DF going through same & after 60 years of gardening ( amateur I mean literally an amateur - not paid for gardening - DF ) he reckons his will be OK