Is my Acer P. Orange Dream Stressed?

Discussion in 'Maples' started by kibosuru412, Jun 24, 2015.

  1. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    Hello,

    I had bought an Acer Palmatum Orange Dream about 5 or so months ago. It was doing fine and it's been growing taller. But since last month, I've been getting more browned edges and burned looking tips. Then I read that during the summer, it'll be greenish with red edges. That's fine and all but then I started to notice these reddish edges starting to turn brown. It's not that bad in the picture yet but after a while, these red turned brown edges start to dry up and curl.

    My tree now looks like a mess with curled brownish leaves (and they are "crunchy") in the afternoon before i water them). Funny thing is, if I touch some of them, the whole leaf will fall off but where it fell off, I see two new buds. Is that normal?

    I see a bunch of new buds forming right at the connection of the previous leaf or on the branches but my plant looks like it's dying because it's so ugly. Is it supposed to start losing its leaves in the summer and have new ones grow? (I'm in Northern California, zone 8b)

    I am currently only giving it a few hours of morning sun, and I water it once or every other day depending on whether i feel the soil is moist or not. Drainage is not a problem as I can see water coming out of the pot (I have not yet planted it in the ground since I feel the tree is still too young to withstand some wind). I tried mixing some peat moss to make the soil more acidic but it's still staying at around 7.5 alkaline level.

    Please help. I dont want my tree to die. :(

    Also, two of the branches is really long and tall, but the top has soooo many leaves it's weighing down the branch. Should I trim the top off or leave it? I'm currently supporting them with a bamboo sticks. (picture 2)

    I added a third picture that shows what happens after the red trim is gone. Edges all shriveled up but you can also see new little branches with some buds. Maybe I'm just kidding myself thinking those are new buds.
     

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    Last edited: Jun 24, 2015
  2. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    I don't know where exactly you live, but I've heard California is a rather sunny state ;-), so if you don't put it at least in dappled shade, most Japanese maples are likely to get leaf-scorching, especially if you keep them on a cement floor or in a place that can store the heat of the sun.

    When I buy a maple, I inspect the roots by taking the tree out of the pot. If I see the soil is too compacted or the roots are circling the pot, I put the tree in a slightly bigger pot with a mix of volcanic stones (pozzolane) and a bit of organic mix (composted pine bark or sphagnum moss) so that the roots can "breathe" while retaining some moisture at the same time. Then I do a proper repotting the following spring.

    It's also better to water your trees in the morning, the risk of fungal diseases is lower.

    If there are live buds where a leaf falls, there will be a new growth provided that the tree is healthy. The leaves will be smaller, hold longer to the tree in autumn, and have more vivid colours: defoliating maples in June is a technique used by bonsai enthusiasts to get this result. Repotting the tree at the same time without pruning the roots too much can also be done where the weather allows it (not too hot, and rainy);

    Here are photos of what I did on one of my bonsai in 2013 on a bonsai from a cutting of the plain species (June 11th, August 9th, November 7th, November 23rd)
     

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  3. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    Thanks for the reply! Well, the first 2 pictures was from last month. Since, I've moved it to next to the house where it only gets about a few hours of sun, then it has shade from the house for the rest of the day. And the pot is actually on soil, not concrete. I would have thought it would be better than leaving it on the concrete but leaves just started dying off. I thought leaves do not fall off until winter time so I'm surprised it's dying off and new buds appearing in the middle of summer. It hasn't been that hot either lately, mostly around 60-80F (16-27C).

    I guess as long as new buds are coming out, it should be ok? I also changed to watering in the morning. I'll see if that helps.

    That's a beautiful bonsai btw. How does it stay so small??
     
  4. ROEBUK

    ROEBUK Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    You say it was bought around 5 months ago,was this straight out of a nursery? looks has though it's not had time to harden off yet,to much light to quickly, very crispy leaves especially on pic 3.

    Shade shade and more shade for this cultivar,very prone to leaf scorching as you have found out, sometimes this should be called 'nightmare instead of dream'.

    Pic of one of mine from this time last year,note i have it well shaded in the afternoon. Pic taken at 14.30 when the sun is just overhead another hour later and it's in good shade for the rest of the day,usually water mine twice a week dependent on the weather,don't over water that will stress it out as well.

    As you say it does have lovely red edges and shows off nicely when established,just let the leaves drop and hopefully once it's been outside all year you should see a changed tree for next year.
     

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  5. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    That makes sense. Thankyou! I did buy it straight from the nursery and repotted it into a slightly bigger pot.

    I'm about to plant it into the ground within the next month. For at least a year, I guess I'll put some additional support around it and also make sure it's got some extra shade. I initially bought it since I read that you can actually grow this in full sun. I guess that article wasn't entirely correct. :(

    Also, it looks like your plant is very bushy. Mine's tall and skinny. Am I supposed to prune it to keep it short for now so that more leaves can grow at the lower parts?
     
  6. Atapi

    Atapi Well-Known Member

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    Wow, nice looking 'Orange Dream', your tree is still have the color that I had over a months ago. Mine is all light green now and I have it in full sun but I will need to move it to an afternoon shade now since I experienced some sun burn last year.
    Pic #1 in mid-April
    Pic #2 in May
    Pic #3 Jun.
     

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  7. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    How old is your tree? It's so full looking. Mines like a skinny stick. Should I be adding fertilizer and trimming some of the branches down?
     
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2015
  8. ROEBUK

    ROEBUK Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Before you do anything else to your tree you must let it recover from it's stressful new start,just basically leave it in the new pot you placed it into when bought.

    The rooting system needs to recover and re establish a good oxygen supply,then you should hopefully see some new bud life appear,and remember to keep it well shaded.

    The time for pruning is not yet you are a long way off that stage,you need to see it re grow and put more new leaf on to the branches.

    Me personally i would not prune that tree for at least a couple of seasons,would need to see that tree with at least another 12" growth all round before i even thought about cutting.
     
  9. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    Thanks for the advice! I'll keep the plant in the shade for now, hopefully it'll adjust to the recent warm weather and soon start putting out new leaves. I'll post updates in a month or so (and hopefully it'll have recovered a little bit. Fingers crossed!)
     
  10. Atapi

    Atapi Well-Known Member

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    Hi Alain, I just began to do my JM bonsai this year and I would like to know when is the good time to defoliage the current leaves so I can get the new set ready for falls?.
    Thank, steven
     
  11. Atapi

    Atapi Well-Known Member

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    I bought mine three years ago and it already had full of branches with the caliper just over an inch but it is not as nice shape as I want, so i will begin pruning it this upconing winter.
    I would let your tree rest/recover from the transplant shock until next year, only light fertilizer or none until next Spring. The dried leaves will be replaced soon, don't worry. I experienced JM normally needs at least from one to two years to acclimate to the environment i.e. soil, light, weather, sun... then it will take off. I build my JM garden back in falls 2013 and this year most of the tree began to show their colors and nice growing. Patient!
    First pic is in falls 2013 when I first started.
    Second pic is this May with the panorama view of all my trees. You can se when they start growing, they begin to push each other. Lesson learned for me :).
    Good luck, steven
     

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  12. AlainK

    AlainK Renowned Contributor Forums Moderator Maple Society 10 Years

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    Hi Steven,

    Now is the right time where I live, it can be done mid-May to until around mid-July, but of course it depends on your local climate (I think it's not so different from here, USDA zone 8), how healthy the tree is, etc.

    There are bonsai forums like IBC (http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/forum) where I'm sure you will find info from locals.

    EDIT: just read a thread about defoliation with an answer from Jim Lewis, Location: Western North Carolina!

    http://ibonsaiclub.forumotion.com/t16791-defoliation#170704
     
  13. kibosuru412

    kibosuru412 New Member

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    Wow, that garden looks great! I wish my husband would let me buy more japanese maples, but he thought with 3-4, we already have too many. I ended up repotting the orange dream yesterday because i felt that there was something wrong with the soil since it wasn't draining as fast as it used to. Near the bottom, the soil was really wet and there was a nasty worm in it too, glad i checked. I initially mixed potting soil with whatever soil we had on the ground, but it turned into this nasty muddy mush that did not drain well at all. So I poured it all out, washed some of the roots with water, and used all gardening soil with some wood mulch soil from our front yard mixed in at the bottom. Hopefully it'll start to get stronger.
     

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