Cheering ourselves up with Maples

:D Thanks. warm blonde :D

 

Good evening everyone, I've just been checking my garden lights ready for a family BBQ this Sunday ( fathers day) and took these photos of 4 of my 7 ghosts. Bit different during darkness , so just thought it would be an added dimension to the thread.

D

 

It's a normal English Summer here, 14° C, dark clouds and heavy rain. Lol.
Here are two that are enjoying it though my 30 yr old Acer palmatum Red Flash and 42 yr old Red Dissectum.

D

 

I was hoping for the rain. I was on my way back home when I saw black clouds towrd the 4 miles I had to drive, I heard thunder when I was 5 minutes from home, then... nothing ! I'll have to water my trees :-(

I went to my son's new place today, he has a small yard where he put the trees I gave him, most of the day in full sun :



Close-ups of Acer elegantulum (nice colours, aren't they?) and 'Butterfly'. It's been here for two weeks and the red has begun to show again :



On cement slabs, against walls that keep the heat (the worst conditiopns for J. maples) 'Atro. purpureum dissectum' (no leaf-scorch so far, it's in a very tall pot), and a 'Lemon Lime Lace' that shows much more red than it should, but so far, that's fine :

 

Hi Alain, so when will we see your son on the forum??
I love the Lemon Lime Lace, cannot get it over here sadly.
After today's rain here I won't be watering for a while, hope it heads your way to give your trees a welcome drink.

D

 

Just an update here in England, Snow in Walsall West Midlands and a Tornado in Southampton. Times they are a changing.
Think we all might need more cheering up !!!
D

 

WOW!

Unfortunately, we can expect more of these in the coming years. Here, so far, apart from record temperatures, we haven't had to suffer from the tempests we had in the late 90s.

Maybe in a couple of years : he's thinking of buying a house of his own, but it's a long way before he can. One day, perhaps, when I kick the bucket so he can inherit, but I'm in no hurry...

;^D

 

Yes you are so right, more extremes to come.

Getting on the housing ladder is difficult these days but worth it in the end.

I'm with you , No Hurry.

D

 

Lovely acers! Is there such a thing as acer envy? That Acer Palmatum Butterfly makes the one I just bought look like a tiddler!!!

I am certainly prepared to be your long lost son you never knew you had!! :D

 

fragments of calm in the space



between gusts

 

Here is an Acer pseudoplatanus Atropurpureum Group in the park area down from the residential area along English Bay.

I was surprised looking at the photos to see all the leaves going to the right, then all the leaves going to the left. I think I was in the same place, sun at my back. These are a big hit with the local aphid population.

 

Good morning G, very calming indeed. So few leaves, I really like that style.
D

 

Good morning Wendy, for me it's when the wind blows and the underside of the leaves show. You have caught that perfectly with your photos. Thankyou

D

 

I have a question for you maple veterans. I bought a small 41" Shishigashira in April of last year. It was potted until the fall when I replanted it in ground to replace a hydrangea that was not doing well. It was doing great this spring looking healthy with new growth until I noticed a couple of days ago all the leaves just shriveled up to a crisp. It hasn't been particularly hot and we have had plenty of rain except for the past week or so. All my other trees are doing fine. This also happened to a Summer Gold a couple of years ago. It was doing fine until it wasn't. That happened in early fall for the SG. What's the deal?

 

Good evening J, sorry to hear about your Shishigashira, IMO it sounds like the dreaded Verticullum wilt. Soil can remain contaminated for years. Was the Summer gold in the same spot?
A lot of rain can start the VW out of the blue.
If you have any photos, do post as this may give more of an idea.

D

 

No they were in two completely separate areas of my property. The SG was planted near where a 50" pine tree was removed after Hurricane Sandy killed it. I thought maybe that had something to do with it. But my Garnet is doing great a few feet from where the SG was planted.

Here's the Shishi:

 

Hi again J , was there any sign of wilting prior to the shriveling of the leaves. This year or last?? It can go unnoticed.
This does look terminal tbh. Have you peeled some bark back to look to see if it has the tell tell signs of discolouration in the xylem ?

D

 

Yeah, it's a goner. I did have a Seiryu planted 4 feet in front of it which also didn't make it. Here's pics of the bark peeled back. I don't know what I'm looking at, tbh.

It was looking completely healthy until a couple of days ago when I noticed all the leaves had completely dried up.

Should I not plant another JM is this area?

 

To start with before any drastic action, scrape back the soil to see if it is very dry. Drought conditions can also cause leaves to shrivel.
Secondly have a look at this, Verticillium wilt / RHS Gardening.
I'm not seeing any discoloration in the xylem from your photo, but as your Seyru has gone the same way and it was close, it looks possible it is VW as it is a soil born fungus although all JM have some Verticullum in them passed down. Stress can bring it out in a tree, ie lack of water over water etc etc.
If it is this, then I would not plant another maple there for several years at the very earliest. 15 is better.
If the Seyru is a definite goner, cut a cross section from a branch to see if there are dark brown rings.

D

 

Thanks.

The Seiryu died 2 years ago and I removed it. I'll plant something else in this location . Will VW pass up though a container?

 

Hi J, no it wont as long as you do not use the same soil. If it were me I would plant something there that is not affected by VW. Dogwood Cornus Kousa perhaps !!! Does go well with maples.

As another thought, the other pathogens to consider as a cause are pseudomonas, phytophthora etc etc.you can read about these online.
These are often confused with VW.

Really sorry J, that's the best I can offer as an opinion.

D

 

Thanks for your assistance. I'll do some research before replacing it.

 

Do let us all know J how you get on.

D

 

Matt (who was the previous President of the NAB before his brother Tim) named this maple after his wife. I commented to him that my wife (also a lovely blonde lady) would probably whack me if I named a maple after her in this fashion, but I don't think he was amused! Haha.

None the less Matt's a good friend and this is a great maple. Sadly I don't think we have it on this side yet. And with the current situation I guess it's unlikely that we will have it soon.

@dangerine49 , I'd pull that shishi into a pot with very sharp drainage. Water once, leave it in the shade, see what happens. It may surprise you. It doesn't somehow look like vert wilt to me, but always hard to tell from a pic. Anyway if you pull it you can check the roots.

-E

 

Thanks emery. I'll try that. My wife likes evergreens so I'll think maybe I'll put a conifer in that spot. The low junipers that surrounded the Shishi are healthy.