Hey all Since this is my first bloodgood tree justed wanted some feedback. I bought this tree from Homedepot about 1 month ago. We recently have been having some high temps lately like 98-100 degrees. Now I have been watering like 2 - 3 times a week. But I still have notice the leaves on the tree drying up. I also have notice some leaves green color. Should I been concern and what advice you can offer. Maybe some pruning maybe necessary since I do see that in the middle a couple of barks are tight together? I have attached some pics for you to review. Thanks for any help.
borderman01, I've noticed that most department store trees quickly become 'rescue missions'. During this time of the year, it is natural for some bloodgoods to turn green during the hottest parts of the year. I would make it a priority to water this tree early in the morning at least every other day. The bloodgood might not look good this year, but you'll help it develop roots and become more established so the tree won't go through this as badly in the future. Even if your tree loses it's leaves due to stress, continue to water it consistently. When watering Japanese maples it is important to let maples go through a dry period after being watered. During this type of heat spike, you can almost water them every morning. I wouldn't do any pruning quite yet. I would suggest waiting until next spring to see if any die-back has occurred. I would also recommend a light mulch (1-2inches) on the ground around the tree, but not touching the trunk. This helps protect the roots from heat from the sun and will help on water retention in the leaves of your tree. Hope this helps! Tim
Thanks Tim for the advice and will do what you advise me. It does have the mulch already but will make sure it's not touching the trunk.
Hi borderman1, I looked closely at your second picture, and am wondering about how the tree was planted. This size tree likely came in a three gallon container, and your hole doesn't look any bigger than that. Maples really like to have the soil around them loosened quite a bit, and the earth surrounding your tree looks pretty hard pan from the heat. It could be that when you water, the water is just running through, like in a sink, not staying to moisten. I may be wrong, since I'm guessing all of this by looking at a picture. But I reccomend digging up and ammending the soil surrounding the tree at least a foot farther out than what I'm seeing in the picture, and when you water, water with a slow drip or a soaker ring to make sure the area gets well moistened instead of bypassed. Good luck.
Hi all Sorry for getting back this late but with two kids it's hard to get on line. Well I have great news. In the second year of my bloodgood, it's doing well. All it's leave are that bright gorgeous burgundy red. I would like the tree to obviously get much taller like over 6 ft and then blossom with those red colors. Here is a pic.
Hi all. Just wanted to give an update on my bloodgood tree. It looks to be doing great. It has gottne taller and the leaves seems to have an even more deeper burgundy color. Take a look.
