I planted a Semi No Hane Japanese maple earlier this April from a Japanese Maple Nursery. Facts about the tree: *In San Francisco *Sun from 9:30am-4:30pm. *Some wind, but nothing strong, since its next to a fence and blocked by house. *I water it once or twice a week depending on my moisture meter However my maple has been slowly loosing it's leaves and looks so sad. I called the nursery and showed them pics and they said I'm not giving it enough water because the leaves are falling off crispy and i scrapped the bark and its still green. Do you guys also think it's a lack of water or something else? I do have a rhode island maple next to it, and it's doing just fine with the same watering schedule and environment. But I did plant the rhode island last year in October, so it was starting to go into dormant mode compared to planting the semi no hane in April/spring
I think it needs more water. It may also need more protection from wind/breeze. Freshly planted trees need more water (more frequent watering) until tree roots are 'established'. I'm still unclear about just what happens when they become established, but once it is, it will not need so much watering - 1 to 3 years or so. For most acer palmatum too much sun causes them to redden. Orange dream is an exception. It turns more and more yellow before going brown. Wind also affects the outer canopy leaves but they go directly to brown with wind burn. Good luck with your dry (I think) tree.
