I hope this is the right placed for this question if not my apologies,I am told that our weeping Japanese Maple has tip/leaf burn ? Its a new addditon to our yard 3- 4 weeks now we used good top soil and a mix of peat moss in a sandy soil .It was doing fine then a after about a week it started to have shriveled leaves ,we have had a fair amount of rain I make sure its got water, could it be shock or is there something I could do? We dont have hard water just to let you know. Its in sun and partial shade in the late afternoon,I dont see a attach image here is a link to pics of the tree http://boards.diynetwork.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&f=8421916776&m=6271064563&r=3691084563#3691084563
I can't seem to find the pic. FYI, click "go advanced" and "manage attachments" to post a pic here. how much water is the tree getting? Shriveled leaves sound more than tip burn. I imagine there is some degree of transplant shock, and my guess is the tree will rebound fine (maybe even next season) with a nice constant level of moisture (but no "waterlogging") -good luck!
here are the pics, sorry the link was just there?? I havent fertilized as I have seen many refererences to not fertilize when transplant ??
It is very common for newly planted maples to get leaf tip burn, probably due to the shock of transplanting, lack of a fully developed root system, differing light conditions and possibly wind. I wouldn't worry about it as long as the tree is getting plenty of moisture.
thanks for the pic. I came across this link: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/homegardens/treestress.html and in particluar, "A common early symptom of stress or injury is marginal leaf burn - leaves fringed by dead tissue. Diseases seldom cause marginal leaf burn. Leaf diseases usually show up as small or large dead spots or areas scattered about the leaf. Leaf burn occurs at the leaf tip or along the leaf margins because salts (plant nutrients) accumulate in this area. Anything that causes the plant to pump insufficient water can result in a toxic burn to this tissue because it contains the highest level of salt. This can especially be a problem with young, newly transplanted trees." Hopefully those with more experience than me will pipe in, but I would tend to agree with your gut sentiment to avoid fertilizing excessively while the tree in under stress.
I'd like to register a very mild dissent. In my experience (with woody plants in general) a weak solution of seaweed extract seems to help newly transplanted or traumatized plants. This contains basically zero nitrogen, so it doesn't stimulate weak foliar growth, but it supplies numerous micronutrients and seems to have a general "tonic" effect on the plants.
I use S.T.E.M. which supplies all the required micronutrients without the nitrogen. It can be given during stress and I believe alleviates it. Al once said something to this effect...witholding nutirents to a sick or stressed plant is like keeping vitamins from a sick child. I believe he was right. I do think nitrogen during this time is counterproductive though, especially high levels unless you have reason to believe that the plant is severly lacking nitrogen.
