Hello Maple Friends, This is my first post here, but I figured that this would be the best community to reach out too. I have an beautiful Orangeola JM that has been growing in my yard for the past 8 years. It has a sandy soil mix and in full sun, which it has been very happy since planting it 8 years ago. Last year in the spring I noticed that i was getting a lot of dying off on the top branches. I let it be to see what it would do this year. This year I had no growth at all on the existing branches, the only growth was from a small new branch that emerged from the trunk. I trimmed it all the way down to the trunk as it was obvious that there would be no growth on the branches. Looking at the branch that grew from the base of the trunk, the leaves certainly do not look like they are from an Orangeola. Are these leaves from a possible graft that are re-emerging? Are these possibly juvenile Orangeola leaves? I have attached photos, any help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Hi @StLuciaMike , they are from the rootstock and should be removed. Orangeola is a dissectum variety. Re your tree not doing well, have you repotted it at all ? IMO your Orangeola is suffering from probably no compost in the very small pot it's in. Hence no growth this year. This is not the time to repot but from July onwards you can get away with it. I repot from October to February in the UK as the trees are dormant and no stress is caused to the maple. If you have any dead branches then trim these off now. The process is take off any dead, diseased or dying stems. Hope this is of help.
Acerholic Thank you for the reply. I should have mentioned in my first post that the tree is planted in the ground. When the tip branches died off completely I cut the trunk. This pictures are what remains.
A follow up question. Based on the photos the rootstock that is growing back, would you say that this is another form of Japanese Maple or more of a standard maple?
Hi , it is unknown what the rootstock is , but as you cut it down to the trunk, this is probably all you have now, so don't remove anything. The Orangeola has gone. IMO it is a JM you have.
Hi @StLuciaMike. Yes it is an Acer palmatum, the Japanese Maple most people mean when they use the term. These are typically (but not always) used as rootstock for the cultivars like Orangeola. These are very variable, but this looks like a nice one, so as Acerholic says let it grow and you may have a very nice JM in the long run. Even if it's not what you were expecting.
Thank you very much for the quick and informative replies. I will keep this thread updated with photos as it progresses. Thanks again!
