Hi All.... Our Japanese Maple is over 10 years old. We had severe rain several weeks ago here in NY - largest rainfall in over 100 years. Our tree looks like it is dying. Leaves have sprouted on only three branches and some off shoots are on a couple of the main trunks. I scratch the branches that don't have leaves and the branches are very dry - not green BUT I can't brake them off yet. I fertilized with mild kelp meal, worked some enriched soil into the roots, mulched and prayed. There are tiny buds on the tree - but they don't seem to be growing. We are going to have a good stretch of dry weather - I don't know if I should water the tree. I had a tree man over today and he said the tree roots drowned with all that rain. I don't know...... I want to save the tree - we luv it so much. I planted it and have been nurturing it all these years. The curious thing I noticed around my area is that trees are blossoming at a slow and irrgular rate. The nursery I visited to pick up the kelp meal had a huge ornamental Japanses Maple and about 30% of the branches were still dormant. I hope someone can help us. Thanks in advance.
If the roots rotted - not a rare problem with Japanese maples - what it needs is better drainage. That's if there is enough left of it to grow back on a new, better-drained planting site. And if it doesn't have a systemic infestation that is killing it - another common problem with these, with or without wet soil.
