old leaves again!

Discussion in 'Maples' started by alex66, Mar 16, 2012.

  1. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    ..some maples again have the leaves on branch , why?is one insect or? have someone one answer?
    alex
     
  2. Daniel Otis

    Daniel Otis Active Member Maple Society 10 Years

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    Hello Alex!

    My trees sometimes keep their leaves, for two different reasons. First, if we have an early frost, the leaves can be killed. I would think that serious drought might also kill leaves. Abscission, the dropping of leaves, is an active biological process, so if the leaf dies on the tree the process can't continue. Failure to drop leaves from this cause doesn't seem to do any harm or indicate a serious health problem. One of my japonicums kept its leaves this past winter, and its buds look fine.

    But I also have an occasional branch with verticillium or one of its relatives, and these branches too sometimes don't drop their leaves. For instance, my Seiryu had one small branch that kept its dried leaves this past winter, and by the end of winter that branch had that burned look that maple growers dread. I cut it back to the trunk and will hope for the best.

    Incidentally, I've had this Seiryu for about 18 years now. Every few years, it loses a branch, usually a small one, to verticillium, but in general the tree is healthy and looks good. So it's living with verticillium, not dying from it. I suppose if my neighborhood were otherwise immaculately free of disease, I might have considered getting rid of it, but my house has dying Norway maples all around it, so it's impossible to escape contamination.

    Good luck to you--I hope it's just cold or drought in your case.

    D.
     
  3. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    ciao Daniel !many thanks for the reply!:))
     
  4. David81

    David81 Member

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    some of my also (shigitatsu sawa for example)...i think is due to drought in this winter in Italy....may be?? however, seems no obvious damage.... hopefully ..
    Ciao!!!
     
  5. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    ciao David :)in my zone rained and snow!!
     
  6. katsura

    katsura Active Member 10 Years

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    This winter my maples kept their dead leaves on more fully and longer than any
    other year I have ever seen by far.
    I am about 75% fully leafed out now and yet many dead leaves remain (as do
    the most previous year's seeds I have ever seen).
    I have a 6' X 6' Garnet that is mostly leafed out yet it has as many brown
    dead last year's leaves as it has new dark red leaves.
    I had been thinking of doing a topic on this but figured I would put it here.
    My winter was very dry and not cold at all (if I had a frost it was maybe 1-2 times).
    I am curious about the process of abscission - thanks for your thoughts and input
    as always, Dan O. - but I'd like to understand the process of leaf drop better.
    We think we know a lot about maples, but our ignorance likely vastly exceeds our
    knowledge, but we carry on!
    Best regards & Happy Spring to everyone!
     
  7. alex66

    alex66 Rising Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    :-)happy spring
     
  8. Orchidity

    Orchidity Member

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    This concerned me too, I have three that kept their dead leaves. My Shigitatsu sawa and Sister Ghost, both in pots, both bothered me quite a bit. I thought that repotting last fall after a greenhouse purchase may have been the wrong thing to do, but they are budding out now. A third Omure yama, has done the same but is now also showing signs of new growth.
     

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