Hi! Every fall without fail my Jpn maples start to color, and then the edges go crispy and brown. Spring and summer leaf outs go well. I live in western, ma. Thoughts? Thanks! Debviolet
I'd say 'No. The Jpn maples are mostly planted as understory to big big oaks, and very tall pines. The big trees act as wind breaks. There is dappled sunlight after the big trees leaf out. The ground is very well draining, somewhat acidic. Thanks for your interest:-) Debviolet
This is usually due to a lack of water. Cooler temps give a false sense of security but the sun is still very intense. The rain that does occur is usually enough to just wet the mulch. Dense canopy usually diverts rain outside the reach of the root zone. For us the past 5 or so late Summers into fall have been extremely dry. Leaves start to change and then brown out if we don't water by hand on a regular basis.
In addition to my post above about a lack of water, I have also seen this happen from late season powdery mildew. It seems the humidity is lasting much longer into fall. The late season powdery mildew is less noticeable and causes an early onset of fall color that quickly browns out and drops. Lastly, some varieties don't put on much of a fall show or a dependable fall show. Our Acer shirasawanum Aureum rarely does and Autumn moon can be unreliable in fall.
I like the water hypothesis--I somehow have accumulated about 25 palmatum, 2 shirasawarum, 1 circinatum, no japonicum (have to fix that:-), over 15-20 years, and fall brings a little color, alot of brown. Next year I will make a point to keep a few thoroughly watered to see what happens. Also will look for the mildew but not noticed any.... Thanks for ideas! Best, Deb
Will be upgrading fall watering now and start earlier next year. I am excited to think I might get a little fall show. Thanks!
