My Japanese Maple, as well as most trees and plants in this area, has a lot of lichen on it. Up until this year, it has done beautifully. This last fall, rather than the leaves turning their beautiful fall colors, they just died. It is now May and the tree should be full of green leaves. As you can see in the pictures, there are very few leaves. Anyone have any ideas on how to bring this poor tree back to good health?
I'm not going to say this will work, but we have had Japanese Maples struggle in the ground when they have grass right up to the trunk. We cleared all the grass and fed with slow release pellets. We then had a 4ft diameter circle around the tree which we mulched with pine needles. We watered regularly and the following year all was well. Our opinion is that Japanese Maples do not like competition for nutrients and water. Also clearing the grass gave the shallow roots the ability to breath. It's worth a try. Hope this is of help.
Thank you. I'll give that a try. Getting enough water shouldn't be a problem here. We have had 60" of rain since January 1st.
I think you have hit the nail on the head regarding your rain fall. Japanese Maples DO NOT like wet feet. With the amount of rain you have had and no air getting to the surface due to grass etc, I think it prudent to remove all the grass around it as soon as possible and then some gentle spiking of the surface soil, afterwards adding some pine needles or pine straw. Take a look at Augusta golf course for ideas. Good luck.
This is most likely the combination of abundant rain and the tree being in a slightly low spot. The tree is most vulnerable while dormant in late Winter and early Spring. The roots need oxygen in order to take up water. So it's flooded and dying of thirst, along with possible root rot. You can get oxygen to the roots by vertical mulching. Vertical mulching may help restore balance to the over saturated soil too. Here is more information on vertical mulching. Note if you mix fertilizer in your vertical mulching mix, which is good, it must be organic as synthetic/ chemical forms of nitrogen fuel bacterial outbreaks and will kill a stressed tree. Vertical Mulching
The tree is not doing any better. Actually, the one branch that had a few green leaves on it has not died. A neighbor said it may have been contaminated by the leach line from my septic tank. The line runs withing about 6 feet of the trunk. Is that a possibility?
