Hello everyone. I have joined here hoping to get some help and advice on my new hobby. I have been very interested in gorwing Japanese maples that I have found in the woods around my neighborhood. The problem is that they are not looking to good this spring. The leaves are wilting and I do not want them to die. Some of them were transplanted last summer and some of the smaller ones were transplanted about 3 days ago. The ones that I transplanted 3 days ago are now sitting in 75% potting soil and 25% sand. The ones that I did last summer are using a combination of loam, potting soil and the native dirt. Im thinking that the older ones may have been over watered but I am hoping from the pictures below that someone here can offer me some help on what I can do to bring them back. FWIW, I fertilized the older ones from last year with a 30-10-10 fertilizer.
Did you have some frost that maybe has damaged the leaves? Also, 30/10/10 fertilizer is way too strong for Japanese Maples. Something like 3/3/3 is sufficient.
It's hard to tell from the pictures, it appears that the healthy leaves are in focus and it's hard to see the damaged leaves. I have some general advice to share. Transplanting is best done in spring as buds swell, but before the leaves emerge. If it's done after they emerge, then great care should be taken. Do not transplant in the sun and do it on a cool day. Care should be taken to keep the roots moist during the transplanting / potting process. With trees that size, a small hand sprayer / mister works well. Be sure to water very well after repotting and make sure to eliminate any air pockets in the soil and around the roots (I use chop sticks). Very young trees need extra care to not damage the roots when transplanting. Keep the tree in shade until it can catch itself (at least a week, maybe longer depending on the time of year, transition slowly to part sun). Make sure it's a cool area of shade and keep the tree away from dry shade or drying winds (areas of concrete for example, can heat up during the day and create a small micro climate of dry air which is stressful on a stressed maple). Keep them out of direct sunlight and away from frost at all times. Never fertilize after transplanting, an organic root stimulator can be used and mixed into the soil at the time of potting, but it's a matter of personal preference. I have had success either way and tend not to use any root stimulator, because I have not seen any real improvement when using it in my area. Once a tree is established in the pot, it's not necessary to use fertilizer the first year. As a safety margin when fertilizing maples, use half the recommended dose. A 0-10-10 can be used in late summer to help prepare the tree for winter. When fertilizing during the growing season, never exceed 10-10-10 in my opinion. I like to use organic based fertilizers, because they add organic matter to the soil and they are more forgiving if you accidently over fertilize. Use fertilizer sparingly and not more than 3 times a season in my area. If potting medium is high in organic matter it's not always necessary to fertilize. Never use bonsai wire on a tree that is in transplant shock. Never use wire early in the season (late winter / early spring) as the branches are still brittle and will break instead of bending. Always make sure to remove all bonsai wire in the fall before winter (it conducts the cold - damaging or killing the branch or whole tree depending on the age). Never leave wire on over winter. With maples never use galvanized wire or copper wire. Only use aluminum bonsai wire in my opinion. Never wrap wire completely around the trunk or branch at the same level. The wire should always be in motion up or along a branch as it wraps around it. If the wire damages the bark and it's in motion up the tree or branch, then live tissue can still carry moisture and nutrients up the branch or trunk. If it's wrapped completely around it like a noose (on the same level), then it could damage the bark all the way around the branch or trunk, killing it. (I hope I explained that well enough to make sense, sometime it's easy to show someone, but it's difficult to find the words without using a visual example) The wire should be in a spiral motion and never a circular motion like a noose, chocking the trunk or branch.
Just to add one more point, Dont over react. People tend to over water, fretilizer, etc.. Especially when problems arise. It is best to not panic. Also, maples can rebud out, so dont count them out even if leaves drop. As long as the bark looks healthy, keep up hope. And remember, if the leaves are not active, they will need less water until the next set of buds push. With all of the early spring, and then back to some colder nights, i think some of the leaves have been damaged.
Thank you guys for getting back to me and offering your advice and suggestions. We did have a warm spell here in Southeastern Mass in mid March and that is when the buds took off. We then had a few cold nights that dropped in the 30s. I suspected that this frost is what caused the leaves to wilt but I am no expert. Should I leave the leaves on the trees or pull them off? I don't want the trees to have to work any harder then they have too. Also, the smaller maples that I dug up from the woods are also showing signs of wilting leaves. Do wilted maple leaves ever "fix" themselves or once they wilt they die and fall off.
If you have the time and you don't like the appearance, then you can use sharp scissors or bonsai shears to cut the leaf stalk where it connects to the leaf. The energy from the remaining leaf stalk will help form the secondary bud underneath and the stalk will dry up and fall off. The bud underneath will swell and new leaves will emerge later this spring. Otherwise, the severely damaged leaves will drop off, and new leaves will emerge. The leaves can't repair themselves, but some will survive and the ones that are too far gone will drop off. It's game over for the leaves that appear like wilty lettuce that has been in salad dressing for too long. Otherwise, time is on your side so watch it and see if they recover on their own. You should have a warm up coming your way, so wait and see what leaves perk up and start growing again. Remove the ones that don't. Or you can let it all happen naturally and the tree will lose what it can’t use and form new leaves to take place of the lost ones. If it offers any piece of mind, sometimes bonsai enthusiast will remove some or all of the leaves in mid-summer to prepare for a fall show. The secondary leaves that form tend to be smaller and have better fall color. So, they defoliate the tree on purpose and their maple has great looking leaves in fall. (Please note, this does put some stress on the tree and should never be done carelessly)
