I recently found a potted acer palmatum'bloodgood' --complete with its ID tag. It looks to have been about 3-4 ft high and maybe repotted once..just into a green plastic container. It has been severly trimmed. I don't know whether the person who left if couldn't keep up with the watering ( I live in a highrise) and just trimmed the tree and threw it out...the cuts appear clean..and I've have scrapped the bark off of the stems with my fingernails in places and it seems green and healthy underneath. It has no leaves and no buds. I am trying to revive it with a little TLC..but is it too late this year for it too try and produce new growth..or will the shock of such a severe pruning make it stay dormant for a year? I've looked for signs of disease or pests and can find nothing..just these very healthy trimmed stems. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Well, is it in very gritty, sandy fast draining soil, or soggy peaty stuff that doesn't ever dry out well? The first is good, the latter awful. Maples like to get somewhat dry between waterings, but not just the surface, so be careful about 'keeping up with watering' as it may not be the right answer (especially for a tree with no leaves - it should be allowed to get quite dry). It depends on when the pruning was done - if in early spring, that would be ok, if in the summer, not good. Chances of it's getting new foliage now are not good at all, and if it did, would it mature enough by the first frost not to be lost to it? All around, not the best situation, but good luck!
