Hello, I am new to this site and a new owner of a small Japanese Maple. I bought this one from a DIY store and planted it in a pot (I live in a flat with shared garden and do not want to plant in the ground so that I can take plant with me when I move) and it was looking very happy until a rare week of Scottish sun! The pot was in full light and the poor wee plant did suffer some drought although mostly it was well watered. The result was that the plant leaves shrivelled adn turned brown and dry at the edges. I moved the plant to partial shade and was rewarded with a wonderful long new shoot with bright red leaves. However, the rest of the plant remains shrivelled so the plant is now uneven. A friend suggested I prune back the new shoot to encourage even growth but I am not convinced - will this not reduce it's measn to photosynthesise and isnt it too early to prune (we are nearing the end of the season we call summer!) here in Scotland. Hmmmm.....what to do. ideally I would like an even plant with more than one branch. I ahev posted photos so that you can see the problem. Any tips are much appreciated as I'm a novice here and with maples. My thanks in advance. Sophie
Well that is a great pot for your new tree. I assume that you moved the pot for the photograph, otherwise the heat reflected off the pavement during those sunny days may have been an additional factor promoting the crisped foliage. I am concerned about the grey areas above the tan areas of the foliage. You are welcome to post a few more close-up photographs, but I will proceed on the assumption that you have a fungal infection as well. My recommendation is to carefully remove all of the affected leaves and place them tightly in a plastic bag for disposal. If you have a little potting soil left, as a precaution you could carefully remove the top layer of soil and similarly dispose of it. Wash your hands well before working with the tree again, or else change to a different pair of gloves. Add some more potting soil to the same level on the trunk. As far as the vigorous new growth, you could stake it for the rest of the season, if you prefer that look, or you could leave it for now. There is no need to fertilize this tree until at least next season. If you fertilized it when you potted it, that could have contributed to the vigorous growth, however this being 'Atropurpureum', it will grow more vigorously than most named cultivars. You may see the new growth balance out next spring. If you have an agricultural extension service with a lab there, it would be great if you could take a sample of leaves in for analysis, and let us know what they find. Otherwise removal of the leaves would be recommended in the absence of fungus. There should be buds there that should leaf out in a few weeks.
Maples are funny, they prefer light shade (definitely the Japanese ones anyway) to sun, but also like to be on the dry side between waterings (within reason, of course). Also, the soil you planted it in should be sandy, gritty, for fast drainage, not 'rich peaty loam' and transplanting at this time of year is very bad for a plant, so... good luck.
