Hi all, recently we moved to Virginia Beach and we took our Japanese maple with use, which we have for the past 3 years now. It always did well and up to a couple of days ago it was blooming beautifully with deep red leafs. Suddenly the leafs started to close and crumble and now it looks all dry and it seems it does not have much life in it. Can anyone tell me what is happening?? Strangely enough our some of our azaleas in the back yard start to have a similar issue (see picture). These azaleas are nowhere near the maple as this one is located in the front yard. The maple is not being over watered, it is in good soil and I take good care of it. Thanks and I appreciate your support. Patrick
Wow that's too bad, especially after the move. When was it planted? Were the roots shortened when it was moved? How's the drainage? I'd check to make sure the roots aren't wet, but honestly this sort of sudden spring wilt makes me think of catastrophic verticillium, from which there really isn't any recovery. If it were my maple I'd pull it to a pot with very free draining mix and hope. -E
Thanks. We planted in last autumn and we put a lot of mulch around it so the drainage should be ok. We will try to dig it out and move it to a pot with free drainage and hope that it will help. Any idea on the azalea??
I don't really have a very good idea for the Azalea, it looks like more transport issues, but it's hard to see a connection. They can sometimes be difficult to establish, but should like the same conditions as the JM. Kind of a long shot, but is it possible the mulch was treated with some sort of weed suppressant?
Totally agree with emery on this one, looks like a drainage problem see my pics of a beni tusaka which i moved last year to a new area surrounded by establish Acers already. Started leafing out with no problems this year good colours but then we had quite a heavy spell of rain ,then i suddenly noticed the leaves were drooping then finally dying off. Eventually got around to digging it up this morning and low and behold the roots were saturated, so i just basically removed most of the wet soil avoiding the roots and transfered into a 15ltr container. The medium in the container is irish moss peat with a good mix of small gravel.Pic 2 is the made up peat and gravel mix. Pic 3 grab a hand full of the mix close your hand tightly and release it should fall straight back down and not remain in a ball in your hand this will give good drainage now. Pic 1 tree re potted.Had the same problem last year with an Ukigumo did exactly what i have just explained now and the tree is flourishing once again.Hope this helps you in some way.Good luck
I sometimes have (potted) maples that show similar symptoms. Most of the time, it's a kind of root rot as others suggested: perhaps they were damaged in the winter or because of a mix which is not draining enough, as Roebuk pointed out. As many bonsai enthusiasts keep their trees in a a mix 100% free of organic matter, I looked for info on hydroponics and I found a trick that seems to work well. I quote: "Some horticulturalists and users of hydroponics advocate the use of weak hydrogen peroxide solution in watering solutions. Its spontaneous decomposition releases oxygen that enhances a plant's root development and helps to treat root rot (cellular root death due to lack of oxygen) and a variety of other pests." (Wikipedia) At first, I used 1/3rd Hydrogen peroxide for 2/3rds water, but it was too concentrated (though the trees recovered). This year, I used a 1/10th solution on an Acer elegantulum seedling that suddenly wilted. I cut all the damaged leaves, used the solution, and left it in the same pot. One week later, it was backbudding all over the trunk. Since a plant only needs water, nutriments, oxygen and light, this may be a cheap, environmentally safe solution.
Wow, this is brilliant. I've certainly learned something today, thanks Alain! :) I will absolutely try this. -E
I concur Alain! I will have to make a note of this for the future reference. Did you just use the 10% solution of hydrogen peroxide only the once, and thoroughly soak the plant (ie, root ball)? Once you noticed the plant starting to recover, did you then dig it up and re-plant/pot it? A few more details would be greatly appreciated. :)
Alain,I'm sure we'll all want to give this a try as we've all suffered ast sometime.What strength was the Hydrogen Peroxide you used before watering it down?I see it's commonly available at 3%,5% and 35%...cheers
That sounds interesting, what strength Hydrogen peroxide would be added to the water ? Thank you. whoops, see Houzi already asked.
Er... I don't know what to say: I buy the cheapest 20 cl bottles I can find in the nearest supermarket. So far, so good, but I don't have the scientific competence to understand and explain it all. Your own experience, and others', is the only way ;-)
No worries Alain,infact that rules out the strong stuff which is not so readily available.Less than 1hour before reading your post,I'd just repotted a seed grown dissectum I'm fond of for the exact same reasons...will definately give this stuff a try,seems it could have many benefits.
Hi Alain, Thank you for your post, I believe i have a few with the same symptom so I have dug mine up yesterday after reading your post and tried it with your remedy. I repotted mine in a root pouch and poor the mixed (water & hydrogen peroxide) onto the root ball until it drained out from the bottom of the pouch. Q: How many time do we need to use this mixed? and how often?. Thanks.
I applied the mix after repotting, then about 1 week-10 days later. As I said, it worked for me, so it will be interesting to see the results on your tree so we can have a better assessment of the method.
Take specific product for hydroponic. ( proper value without stabilizing) Then dilution x 20 . http://www.hydrodiscount.com/catalo..._tyTy98gBcT0M380hooCWpy9q54_sdQ81iaSibKDw_wcB Sorry i don't found it in english. But they send all over the world .
Merci beaucoup for the link mate. The concentration of H2O2 is much higher than the one we can find in pharmacies or supermarkets. The page is very informative, for instance the risks of using a too high concentration, which would oxidize enzymes and nutriments. BTW, this is the Acer elegantulum I managed to save this year. It was draining slower than the others, so I thought part of the problem at least was root rot. I didn't touch the rootbal (no white feeder roots apparent) before putting it in a larger pot that I simply filled in with coarse pozzolane (about .7 to 1.5 cm), then I watered it with a peroxide solution. I also cut the top, leaving a stub just below a pair of buds, and used bonsai wound sealant to prevent diseases coming though the cut. As you can see, it backbudded where you could see "lines" of growth, even where there was no visible buds.
We can find H2O2 in pharmacies and supermarkets but it's made for hair and contains stabilising. i prefer the hydroponic form 1+20 water. Peroxyde solution desinfect containers, decontaminate growhouses and tools , (why not roots too ? ) Same experience as Alain did. I had 2 slow growers (amoenum from seeds) In march I try a watered peroxyde solution on one plant after repoting in pouzzolane and the second had been repoted too but watered with rain-water only. The first one is now growing ... The second no ... Exactement comme tu as fait, sans défaire la motte, pas de racines blanches apparentes, 3 cm de pouzzolane tout autour. Seule différence , je n'ai pas taillé la cime puisqu'il y avait 4 branches. Débourrage 1ere pousse = 1CM . puis deuxième arrosage au poroxyde . puis 2eme pousse en cours = 8cm bourgeon terminal non encore fermé. Si l'eau oxygénée désinfecte je pense qu'il faudrait ensemencer la vie bactérienne pour ne pas laisser le terrain libre aux mauvais cryptogames (or brun dilué par exemple). But H2O2 destroy anaerobes bacteria and not aeobes one's.
Très intéressant - very interesting, thanks for your input. I had also read somewhere that H2O2 doesn't kill the "good" bacteriae and other micro-organisms necessary to a healthy soil. Now, if the weather stays like that (and it seems rain is on the menu for the next 10 days or so), we'll have to prepare the sulphur and the Bordeaux mix (Bouillie bordelaise) for the leaves ^^ . Saturday and Sunday should be dry enough for a treatment. PS: are you a bonsai buff too? There are some top-rank bonsai amateurs/artists in the Bordeaux region.
Finaly i found traduction in english at the back of the bottle ... Here is a copy. 'OXYBOOST' H2O2 of HYDROPASSION. Composition:HYDROGENE PEROXIDE 35% OXYGENATION AND STERILISATION Dose rates: - Oxygenation, 2,5 ml/day in 10 liters of water. - Sterilisation, 50 ml in 10 litres of water. Hydroponic culture in growth once a day and when changing or topping up the nutritive solution. Never add 'oxyboost' to the nutritive solution without diluting it first to preserve your nutriments and enzymes. Pre-dilute the 'Oxyboost' in 20 times the volume of water then add to the tank. Harmful if swallowed , irritating to respiratory system and skin and eyes, wash immediatly with plenty of water. Be carefull with concertrate. I am not a systematic hydro-grower. I use it for sterilisation of the green house containers and tools. Trying to wake-up one low grower 4 years amoenum, I don't add to nutritive at all and use a 3ml dilution twice a month. A right dose don't destroy good bacteriae and micro-organisms but a upper dose is able to kill them. Thanks for your 'alerte au mildiou' (mildew) . I am concerned with , particulary phoenix , katsura and also an Azallea chinensis . I use Hydroxyde of cooper . For bonsaï , i grow about ten by my own without particular style ... a 12 years experience , just a good lesson to understand roots and perfect pruning. I am an artist , yes , but not in Bonsaï. http://opusoculi.jalbum.net/Erables-du-Japon-et-autres-espèces/
