Hello I recently had some landscaping done, I decided to add an emperor I Japanese maple that I purchased at a nursery. I did not do my research and when I planted it, I dug the hole rather deep. I live in New Orleans and have a high clay rich soil. I added manure and compost that I bought to the hole and planted the maple. Then into the week we received a lot of rain, I decided to google how to plant a japanese maple and it states to make the hole double the size and higher up then the surrounding dirt. Since we received a lot of rain I immediately began thinking that I was drowning the tree. I decided to replant the tree. This is one week after I initially planted it. Also, I read that if the roots are circling the ball that they should be broken up some to stop the circling. I went and bought some root hormones, good compost and dug my hole not as deep and a lot bigger but in the same spot. I mixed up the purchased compost and added this on top of the native clay rich soil and made sure the tree was planted higher than the surrounding landscape. This time I broke up the root ball some. 4 days later I start noticing a lot of dry crispy leaves. Each day it appears to be getting worse. I have asked this question on other forums, I'm just looking for as much expertise as possible. If I planted the tree wrong as I did not use much of the native soil when planting and I added a lot of new compost and soil, I could potentially be drowning the root ball? And I'm sure I stressed out the tree a lot and it might've been better to leave it in the deep hole with the root ball lower than the surrounding dirt, but everything I read stated this was a bad idea. So, should I just leave the tree alone now and not re-pot the tree? I keep thinking if I re-pot the tree then I can guarantee the correct moisture content and all that a lot easier and wait for the tree to correct itself. Or is it best to just leave it alone for now, if all of the leaves dry up and fall off, I should just hope that new ones emerge? And how long does this take? And as long as the tree branches are not dying, is my tree alright nude of any leaves? I don't really know. Can the Japanese maple take this much stress early on, then come back? I know it depends on the tree but thought I would ask. thank you
Acer palmatums will generate two leaf flushes a year, so wait and see. Rooting hormone will not do much, but it will not do harm. Roots are stimulated to grow by the flux of natural auxin (rooting hormone) and sugars from the foliage above. However, missing that, there is quite possibly enough starch remaining in the living root tissues to keep them going through most of this season. A. palmatums need damp roots, but root growth requires oxygen. Compost is good for dampness, but drainage is the key (think air-filled porosity). One of your pix appears to show a bunch of 'mulch' piled atop the root zone. I would get rid of it and wait with fingers crossed. Leave it be, wait and see. More messing with the roots this time of year will only guarantee that it is dead.
Dear pbGrady, the only thing i could add is you may planted a bit too deep and water them a bit more than they need which resulted to drowning the tree. It happened to me before due to the clay that we have and it takes a bit longer for the water to receed. You can try to stick the shovel at the parameter of the hole and see how wet is the root ball. If it is too wet, I either raise the rootball up or place it in a large pot for now hopefully it will recover then planted at a latter time. Good luck,
