Leaf out .. then 'freeze'

Discussion in 'Maples' started by whis4ey, May 19, 2016.

  1. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Anybody know the cause of this? A small Kagiri nishiki (planted last year) started to leaf out normally this year and then, unaccountably, stopped, and now seems to be on the way to the happy hunting ground in the sky. We haven't had any notable frosts that might have done this (so far as I remember). I have had this happen before but can't think of why. Any suggestions?
     
  2. mr.shep

    mr.shep Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Do you have some photos of your tree in its current state? What I am interested in seeing is any discoloration to the wood.

    Jim
     
  3. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    A couple of pics if the bark Jim
     

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  4. mr.shep

    mr.shep Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    What is going on with the leaves now? Did they leaf out, start to elongate and then had an abrupt stoppage? Was there an allover wilting to the leaves, like a sudden collapse in turgidity? If so, does the top of the tree have a wilting effect to it now? Do you see any viable buds left on the tree that have not opened and do you think they will open or do you feel your tree has passed the point of no return to remain alive?

    Jim
     
  5. JT1

    JT1 Contributor 10 Years

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    My kagari nishiki is slow in leafing out. I'm reaching here but is the graft too close to the ground and staying too moist and failing? Based on the pictures it looks very low and close to the ground, but I could not see enough of it to know that it is failing.

    Mine is also sensitive to cold wind off of lake erie. It will start leafing out with a warm south wind, but stop when the 40-50f breeze comes out of the north for a few days. Then it picks back up when the temp goes above 60f again.

    Also my tree was faster when it was in full sun, but is now slow to leaf out in more shade that is much cooler this time of year.
     
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  6. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    Comments noted and I will reply when I can do so. The tree is planted on a slope, so the top end is level with the ground and the bottom end is built up to cover the root system. It would get whatever wind there is, and we have not had a great deal of warm weather ( a few days maybe) so far. It is certainly not in any shade. It would certainly not be too moist.
     
  7. JT1

    JT1 Contributor 10 Years

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    Its not the wind, its the cold that it brings to my tree. Cold springs are slow and cooler spells will stop a tree during the leafing out process, then it will continue once the temperature warms up.

    If the bark is healthy and the leaves are not wilting or black, then my experience tells me that the cold has slowed things down and a cold spell can hit the pause button. Once temps stabilize and warm the tree will continue.

    I have found some varieties are more sensitive than others. Kagari nishiki is sensitive to cold. Where something like orange dream is not very sensitive to cold.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2016
  8. patdero1

    patdero1 Active Member Maple Society

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    My Shindeshojo leafed out but noticed they were small. Then they started shriveling up. I did have some late season frost/snow, but all my other maples are doing great.
    I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I'll post some pics Saturday.
    Pat
     
  9. ROEBUK

    ROEBUK Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Sam i am having the same problem with my Higasa yama started to bud out nicely then developing the lovely yellow curling leaflets ,then again like last spring we had soom late frost over a period of a week, Covered it up to give it some protection but obviously not enough. Always find this cultivar very delicate and prone to damage easily , but as you can see from the pics still alive and leafing out gradually.

    Also a pic of Aoyagi this is the first time i have ever had to move it from it's normal shady spot , just wasn't getting any leaf break happening could see the buds ok but they just seemed to be dormant?
    Moved it a week ago and thankfully we had some warm weather this week and its finally awakening at last, my other Aoyagi is full of leaf at present, i am just putting this down to the terrible wet Autumn and Winter we had.

    All though most of my trees are now out they don't have the full bushy look as last years growth, hopefully as the weeks go on they will progress more and fill out.
    The weather in the UK just looks as if it's going to be a repeat of last years drab misserable wet year, lots of wind at present .
     

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  10. whis4ey

    whis4ey Well-Known Member 10 Years

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    My Aoyagi is always slow to leaf out ... it and Griseum are always the last to do so. Yours looks fine. The others are similar to my own. My new Shirazz opened well but has stopped with the leaves small. Small twigs at the bottom of the tree appear to have died off. Hopefully it will be fine ...
     
  11. JT1

    JT1 Contributor 10 Years

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    When everything is healthy and its a true pause, its usually caused by a drop in temperature that is above freezing and frost free; usually in the 37f to 45f range. Growth resumes when temps go above 50f.

    Graft or understock failure can cause a eternal pause in growth and results in failure. The little bit of growth that initially occures is caused by the little bit of energy in the branches and once exhausted the growth and tree fails.

    Frost will cause the leaves to fail. If its a tree weak from last years drought or a severe winter as example; chances are good that the tree will die. This is also the opportunity that pseudomonas will thrive on and an outbreak could occur.

    Frost on a healthy tree will cause leaf damage to failure, depending on the severity of frost. If or when leaves fail, secondary buds will form and leaf out a few weeks later. Initial leaves may be larger than normal and this is the trees way of compensating for a lack in leaf surface area. As more leaves emerge the later leaves will be normal size.
     
  12. Atapi

    Atapi Well-Known Member

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    Yes, half of my trees experienced the same thing that JT described above i.e. the Shin Dejosho going from red to green when the cold spell hit then when the warm spell came back, it shoot a lot more red leaves from the tip of each branch.
     
  13. ROEBUK

    ROEBUK Generous Contributor Maple Society 10 Years

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    Well i nearly lost this one shortly after i repled to this thread, just got worse over the next few days all the leaves started to shrivel up and die plus one main side branch started to die off completly , so lifted the tree cut off all the die back changed the medium loosened some roots and placed back into a container and this is the same tree today.

    Noticeable change from reticulated back to solid green leaves ,not to concerned about this because it's alive and flurishing plus putting out strong new buds. The branch which i had to cut off is now growing a strong new replacement just to the side of the cut , also i can see slight reticulation in some of the new leaf growths , so hopefully next year i should be able to see this tree go back to normal ? , this will now be kept some where slightly warmer and sheltered for next years winter months and hopefully it will make a full recovery, such a pretty little coloured tree in the spring time, one not to lose.

    The Aoyagi didn't fully leaf out until the back end of May early June , i also lost three side branches which has left a slight gap on one side of the tree but encouragingly there are minute new buds forming where i removed the branches , this is going in the ground later in the year so hopefully this will put some more new life back into it.

    I think the main problem with this one was that it had been in it's container for over five years now , and i think it's the tree's way of showing me that it needs some attention which it certainly will get come the fall.

    I did notice last fall that some of the leaves were not the usual strong vibrant yellows as is normal with this cultivar, the tree tended to have a few brown scorched leaves which i had never seen before in previous falls and this made me think at the time that all was not right , so hopefully this is the cause of the poor leaf growth and the small areas of die back of this cultivar this year?
     

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  14. dzjaynus

    dzjaynus New Member

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    I'm sorry to bump such an ald thread, but i think i have the same problem as OP with some of my maples. especially the bloodgood seems to be taking a beating due to temperatures just around-below freezing point during the night. it's leaves are curling and hanging down. also, the green coloration as mentioned above seems to be happening here as well. could someone please take a look at the attached photo's and tell me if my guess is correct and what i can do to help them? it's amazing how little info i can find on this subject. thanks!
    (the lighter colored orange dream japanese maple is beginning to have the same problem at it's newer leaves too, i'll add a photo of that as well)
     

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