Hello everyone, I'm new around here and looking for some help. I have a maple tree that until recently (about a week before) has been doing great. I don't know what happened since then, but all of a sudden it's leaves dried up like crazy. Yesterday there were only the ones at the tips of the stems, but today, when I woke up, almost all the leaves were crumpled and dry. It has been watered and fed just like until now, and the only thing that crossed my mind was that maybe the heat did this, although last year it was ever hotter and nothing happened. It sucks to see this happening without any ideas about what to do... Here's some pics: If anyone has any ideas, I could really use some help. Thanks! :)
It's hard to tell from the pictures. Maybe consider taking a close shot of the leaves and some closer pictures of the bark and trunk so we can get a better idea of the health and condition of the bark. Most of the time if there is a problem with a tree the leaves and bark will help tell the story. Based on the information and pictures provided, a couple of things come to mind. One, if a tree is burned by fertilizer, it will go from perfectly healthy to dried up leaves rather quickly. The other concern is that the pot is in standing water. Now I realize you might have just watered before snapping the picture, but if the water is slow to drain or the pot sits in a low spot, this can cause root related issues. The roots will not tolerate standing water or situations where the pot drain holes are blocked by standing water. The roots need to breath. I have also seen this happen when someone recently re-pots the tree (late spring, early summer, or summer) and after re-potting the tree is placed in full sun / heat without giving the tree adequate time to recover in shade (or not providing regular watering during recovery).
JT1, Ph.D (*) (?) ;-) has given you veery sound info I think. I would add that the pot seems too small compared to the the volume above the soil: if the soil is mainly organic, it will dry quickly and if the roots fill the pot, they can't "breathe". Why not put it in a bigger pot with coarse gravel and even gravel at the bottom bvefore doing a proper repot in autumn or in the spring? You might want to cut the top 2/3 of the new shoots too. If it's just water- or heat-stress, it sould recover. If it's a problem with the root-system (fungus or other), then keep your fingers crossed.
Hello, sorry for being late in responding back. I really appreciate the help provided here. :) It was given its first nutrients for the year from about a week beforehand. I'm not sure if this caused the problem because the amount shouldn't have been more than the amount it frequently got all last year. It had indeed been watered right before the pictures were taken, and the water drains very quickly, and what's left of the drained water dries up in about a half an hour, without the tree really sitting in it (the balcony is slightly inclined). It would be a good idea to repot it - the tree was originally intended to be a big bonsai, so repotting it if it is going to make it and trimming the roots down a bit would definitely be in order. I have noticed that a certain number of trees in the area seem to have leaves drying up from the heat, so maybe it was a combination of the heat and maybe it needed more water more quickly than it has so far this year (it's really started to get hot around here!). At any rate, it's been brought in, sitting in front of the glass door to the balcony, so it should be getting about the same amount of light without the heat. Pretty much all of its leaves have been affected, so it's a waiting game to see if it sprouts new ones, I think. I took a few pictures as requested of the color of the bark in different spots, hope they help. Thanks again for your time! :)
good advice from the forum members already, advise removing to a shade location and apply water/mist daily to the leaves and exposed branches. your tree is literally drying up or (Dessication).
