I'm in zone 6a in Canada - south of London. I planted a 10 year old Royal Red Norway Maple on Apr. 23rd this year. The tree seemed to be doing well, and then all of a sudden just stopped growing. The leaves started to wilt, and it's been a very slow process, but now they are starting to dry up. We had a lot of rain this spring, and I'm thinking perhaps the water was the issue. Soil here is all clay, and drainage is poor. I have a regular Norway maple on the other end of the yard and it is doing very well - planted about 4 years ago. I didn't notice this at first, but there appear to be black dots on the trunk of the tree now (mold?). Is there any way to save this tree? If I do need to replace it, any similar trees that don't mind being in clay? Thanks, -Cam
Hi Cam, Manifestly Norway maples don't mind clay: you've got one growing nearby. There are plenty growing on clay around here too. However I fear for your tree, things don't look great. In spite of the rain, a tree like this hasn't had a chance to get its roots under itself yet, almost as if it were in a pot but in the ground. It needs a lot of water, perhaps more than it can get from rain if things are drying out for a few weeks here and there. It is possible that it hasn't had enough water. Check the soil around the roots to see if it is moist. If not, try deep watering, so the water is being drawn up. (I know this isn't easy with clay...) The other possibility, if you back filled with some other soil, is that you created a clay bowl which filled with rain water so that the tree was sitting in a sump: if so it has drowned. Unfortunately there isn't much visual difference from the top between not enough and too much water. Of the two possibilities I guess the latter, though it's a real hip shot, but Norway maple withstands drought well. You could plant it on a mound, or dig it up and replant using the same clay soil that surrounds it. If the black dots turn orange, it's dead, sorry. You could try and bring it back to where you bought it, after all it may just be a poor tree... Good luck, -E
Probably a good thing if it does expire, given Norway Maple's listing as an invasive weed in your area. For replanting, try a Sugar Maple Acer saccharum or a Red Maple Acer rubrum.
The only thing Michael and Ron agree about, Norway maples will be first against the wall when the revolution comes. :) Cam, note that the Red Maple A. rubrum isn't actually red (except it's flowers). I'm not aware of any sterile form of Norway maple although I have seen research in this direction. There's no other big bold red maple I think of offhand, although perhaps someone else will think of one. -E
The root ball on the tree was about 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep (I removed the cage and burlap sack before planting). The soil that came with it was sandy. I have a vegetable garden close to the tree that is a mix of the clay, peat, and compost (essentially amended clay soil). I used that to backfill the hole (I thought the clay wouldn't give the roots the best start). With the amount of rain we had, I suspect you are correct about the tree drowning in a clay bowl. If I pull this out and move it, how gentle do you have to be with the roots? Are there any visual indicators to look for on the roots that might suggest if this tree will live? Thanks for the replies. -Cam
