I planted a young Japanese Maple in my back yard last spring. It is 18" tall and had good growth. A month ago, my GS puppy chewed all the branches off leaving the trunk and 4 branches badly chewed. What can I do to help the little tree to grow?
What type of maple do you have? Has it leafed out yet? If not, and considering it's still so young, I'd dig it up and put it in a 3 or 5 gal. pot with well-draining soil. Trim off the branches at the trunk that are badly damaged or if just the ends are chewed, trim back to a bud union (where 2 buds are along the branch). Cut right above the bud union. Keep it in the pot this summer and pamper it some, but not necessarily with tons of fertilizer. Regular light doses would be best. And keep it high off the ground. If it's already leafing out, do the trimming and put a nice fence around the tree so your puppy won't be enticed by the new growth this spring and summer. Your tree ought to sprout new leaves and twigs, unless the trunk was also chewed. In that case, it's hard to know what damage there is right now, especially not seeing it. Wrapping the trunk might be a good idea, in case the fence gets tipped over or such. A squirrel or rabbit chewed off a young maple of mine this winter. Luckily, it's above the graft union so I'm hoping it will also recover with some new growth. It's already in a pot, but I'd buried the pot in the ground for the winter. Next year I'll have to do more to protect my trees from those critters. Good luck! If you can add a picture or two of the tree, I'm sure others will be able to help out more than I. Kevin in KC
Thank you Kevin. I will take a photo and post it today. Prior to Lucca chewing it, it was putting out new growth but had not started putting out new leaves yet. Before winter set in, it had good shape with leaves and looked very healthy. The trunk is still green on the outside and what's left of the branches do show to be green when scraping a little of the outside. I did fertilize it about 10 days ago. The trunk was chewed on but not bad. He did most damage to the branches. At present, there is no signs of new growth. Any additional advise would be greatly appreciated. I live in guilford county, NC. Thanks again Cheryl
Cheryl, I'd definitely move the tree away from that dryer vent. What kind of maple is it? Is it an upright grower or a weeping dissectum? That darkened area of the trunk would concern me. Let's see what others think after seeing your pic! Kevin in KC
This is a photo of the tree last spring prior to getting Lucca. It is a bit fuzzy. The JM is the small one under the bay window (looks a little purple). I am trying to get a photo of one I have in my front yard to show since it maybe the same type. This one was planted when I built the house in 1999. They are both Crimson Queens (hope that's right) but don't know beyond that. Maybe you could identify it. I will take your advice and move it to a large pot and see if it will come back. Thank you, Cheryl
Here is my older JM and it is the same kind as the one damaged in the back yard(yard man trimmed it back).
