Is my Sango Kaku stressed?

Discussion in 'Maples' started by ChrisUk, Jul 10, 2021.

  1. ChrisUk

    ChrisUk Active Member

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    Hi,

    This year my Sango Kaku behaves a bit strangely.
    It opened in Spring with yellow leaves as expected, but it seems to have skipped most of the 'green' stage.

    As you can see in the pictures below, all the top and side leaves have turned more orange/red. And there are some marks like a tan i.e. parts of leaves not exposed to sun (or shaded via a leaf above) are greenish.

    Spring in the UK was a bit late and a bit weird (frost, lots of sun, then lots of rain in particular)

    Do I need to move it into a more shady area to let it recover, or can it stay where it is? Is it sign of stress?

    It's in a pot, so can be moved around

    Thank you
     

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  2. Xi-feng

    Xi-feng Rising Contributor

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    Wow! I'll leave it to our more experienced members to comment more, but I don't see any sign of crispiness or die-back on the leaves, which is hopefully a good sign? Hopefully it's just responding to the weird spring and summer we've had so far in the UK - it does look lovely, so fingers crossed everything's okay!
     
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  3. 0soyoung

    0soyoung Rising Contributor

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    This happens to shade-adapted leaves when the light level is increased dramatically. The redness comes from anthocyanins that are in a layer above the chloroplasts. By reflecting red light, these compounds act as shades, protecting the photocenters (or chlorophyll, if you wish).

    It doesn't appear necessary to do anything, IMHO, but if you want the leaves to be more green, simply move the tree into a more shaded location.
     
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  4. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    Good morning C, J @Osoyoung has described what is happening perfectly, so I won't go any further with that, but I will, say that this year my Sango kaku is doing exactly the same. Here is a photo of mine taken a few minutes ago. Hope this helps a we are only about 80 miles apart.

    Sango kaku 299.JPG Sango kaku 300.JPG


    D
     
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  5. ChrisUk

    ChrisUk Active Member

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    Thank you all for replies! I am glad to see my Sango Kaku has nothing wrong :)
    To be honest, I like this orange color in summer! Like a pre-autumn foliage
     
  6. Acerholic

    Acerholic Paragon of Plants Forums Moderator VCBF Cherry Scout Maple Society

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    I do also...
     
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