Hi all, I've been having this issue with my Acer Palmatum Peaches and Cream, it all started back at the beginning of March, tree started to leaf out early in the greenhouse and then it just stopped? It's been like this now since then, no change whatsoever. Now I suspect it's overwatered as the pot just refuses to dry out but the leafs don't seem to be dying like in other photos I've seen, they're just in suspended animation sort of thing. My other suspicion is that it just didn't like the soil mix that I potted it up into at the end of last year, but I'm not sure about that as others seem to be fine, I used composted bark, perlite, grit and ericaceous mixed together so I don't think it's that. Could this be vine weevils perhaps, I'm not familiar with the results of their damage but I have given it a dose of killer just in case. So any advice would be much appreciated, thanks for looking.
Looks fine to me the leaves on p&c are twisty sometimes.. water logging would result in the leaves dying..going brown etc
Okay, thanks, I suppose it was the fact that they just haven't open out fully that was concerning me.
A lot of mine are contorted and twisted..yours looks fine to me..but just watch the watering in any case
Good morning N, firstly I have found that Peaches and cream and White Peaches need a lot of protection from everything. They really are like the three bears story Not too.. not too, etc etc 'Just right'. As R @dicky5ash says it looks fine. But you do have a lot of growth, this comes from being in a greenhouse. So the roots sometimes cannot keep up with the top growth. Hence why all the water is not being used up in the soil. My advice would be to allow it dry out thoroughly and only water when you see the soil just below the surface shows you it's dry. I would also definatly give it some shade. This cultivar prefers more shade than less IMO. So a bit of TLC over the next month and it should be fine. But remember, greenhouse grown maples can suffer more than hardened grown outdoor maples. Just a note for 2023..
Thanks both, you've put my mind at ease somewhat. I think perhaps I'll skip the greenhouse next year, unless a frost is threatened at leaf out time and I'll find a shadier spot for now.
Overwatering may be a problem. And once again, the question is "What soil mix are you using?". This is all the more important for potted trees. Of course it depends on your local climate, temperature and rain. I think a thread about soil mix could help solve a lot of problems... (tried a search with "soil+mix" but no specific thread was returned)
@Lisa Harry have a look through this thread Lisa. Think this is what Alain was thinking about. Potting containers and correct soil
Not really, in the last message I can read: "I’d add peat if I could find it" To me, it's a complete no-no. I may be wrong, but for people who live in a rather rainy country, this is the best way to "asphyxiate" the roots when it rains a lot. Many people think that Japanese maples need an acidic soil: this is partly true, but rain, even when there is no pollution, has a pH of 5. So there is no need to "over-acidify" the soil mix in a place where there's a lot of rain.
I do still feel that over watering has played a role and that my mix is hold more water than I'd like, or at least it was I've amended it now. I did run a little experiment actually, 500ml of mix in a 1l pot with 500ml of water poured in and left to drain for half an hour. I then repeated but with 25% coir added to the mix. Result, without coir retained 200ml of water, coir mix 150ml water. So yes my mix could have been better.
Leaves will go brown and fall off if you’ve overwatered..nothing in those pics indicates overwatering imo..just the normal p&c contorted leaf shape..you should see what Higasayama looks like!!!
