My japanese maple is looking really rough. It was a small leaf green, and is now turning very orange and dropping a great deal of leaves. Is this a normal autumn cycle or is this a sign of sickness in my lil maple. She sits on our deck and is exposed to high winds at times. Thanks for any suggestions and info.
Maybe it needs to be repotted into fresh potting medium, or needs to be fertilized. Fall is an excellent time to fertilize hardy plants. But try to get a fairly good idea what it needs before doing anything specific. Leaves shriveling and same twigs dying would be a pathogenic disease problem, such as Verticillium wilt. Japanese maples can be prone to blighting off from such things.
I don't know your zone, but with fall temperatures dropping, it's normal that all decidous trees begin to drop their leaves. However, loosing leaves early in fall could be a combination of several factors as transplant stress, drougth, or simple adaptation of the tree to the new ambient. Observe the JM, if the branches are ok (no dieback), probably the JM is fine. Next spring, the tree will develop new leaves. One more thing, JMs and windy locations are not compatible. Try to avoid places with cold/hot wind. Nelson