Hi, bought this eight years old containered tree from a renowned garden centre two years ago, potted it well with entirely new soil, with drainage, no fertiliser, kept on a 2nd floor outdoor terrace facing south west, kept outdoors over winter like all my other acers, watered in winter every two weeks, in spring every week. Was leafing very nicely, like in the last two years, but now within three days, leaves limp, others shrivel. There was a three day storm, still on-going, but the occasional rain cannot reach and sog the tree. Is this damage from excessive wind? Any advice much appreciated! ps: Three years ago, I had a 10 years old potted Acer Shirasawanum "Autumn Moon" die from an ant's nest in the root ball, no idea how they've gotten there all the way from the street level, and another one died within months from Verticilium wilt, also no idea how that happened, as I purchased new soil for potting it and cleaned the root ball after purchase to the best of my abilities.
Good evening Rosy, that to me looks like dry wind damage. Maples hate a drying wind. You are probably going to lose those damaged leaves. But you will get a second flush in a few weeks. Then you must consider some shading for your maple, from direct sun and wind. During these types of conditions I mist my trees at night with collected rain water. This helps get some moisture back into the leaves. Remember when it rains it comes from above, so the leaves get some as well as the roots. Just some advice on pots, after replacing any maple, I scrub out the old pot before using it again. I use a weak solution of bleech and water. This ensures no transfer of fungal diseases.
Thanks, then I remain hopeful that my tree was not permanently damaged. I could only shelter it from wind by erecting a high wall along the terrace's south (10 feet) and west (23 feet) perimeter, which is not allowed by the building's regulations, and it would also ruin the view. All trees are placed along the building's walls (glass), not at the two open sides. I might have to find a more robust species for the two most exposed spots. The "Jordan" and "Mikawa Yatsubusa" seem not to mind the wind one bit, which is odd, as their leaves are quite delicate when fresh also. A weak bleach-water solution sounds like a good idea for re-purposing pots, they were a bit costly.
