I have a small acer palmatum 'red dragon' that I planted last year. It was growing very nicely this month until a frost two nights ago. Now nearly all of the foliage and new growth appears to be dead. (My other Japanese maple, a 'seiryu,' was not affected.) Three questions: 1. Is there a reasonable chance that the tree can recover from this? 2. If it does survive, what can I do to prevent this from happening next year? (A late frost after the first couple of weeks of warm weather is virtually inevitable here.) 3. Are the other red, laceleaf maples (like 'crimson queen') less susceptible to frost damage? (Lots of people have them around here, and they seem to do fine.) Thanks, Jim
There's nothing at all you can do but wait 1-2 months. If it's going to come back, it'll do it alone, and don't go watering or anything to help it.. watering right now would be counterproductive.