I have an Acer Japonicum Acontifolium that some call the dancing peacock. The tips (the new growth) darkened, shriveled, and now appear to be mostly gone. Is this just the sensitivity of the new foliage to the sun, or is there something else going on? The other parts of the plant look terrific. It is in full sun (North Carolina). Thanks !!
Hi JapaneseMapleMan: A good pic would help to tell us where the burning is occurring such as the tips everywhere or just on the top of the tree. Yesterday I saw three 8' tall Goshiki Kotohime's in 24" boxes at a nursery grown under shade cloth in which all of the tops of the trees were burned back from the top about six inches, yet the rest of the trees had good color but with no apparent new growth. With no direct sunlight to hit the tops of the trees and with some wind protection, the immediate thought I had is lack of water. Many times all it takes is one or two missed waterings to cause the damage. Lack of a good deep watering every now and then could also be the main culprit for those container grown trees as the two drip emitters the nursery is using, putting out 3 gallons of water/hour each, are not giving off enough water to prevent the tops from burning but are enough to keep the Maples in relatively good shape otherwise. For your tree, some pics would provide us with a better idea as to what may have gone wrong or perhaps what is going wrong. Without any more information about the growing conditions of the tree, anything I would suggest would be nothing but a guess. Jim
tips Good idea to post pics. What's the history on this plant? Newly or relatively recent planting? Any reflective heat? I wouldn't worry too much, I'm guessing that it may just need to become established. Keep an eye out for pests and be careful with fertilzers and other chemicals.
The tree is about 6.5 ' tall. It's been planted for 2 years. I've used no chemicals or sprays on it. I just gave it light fertilization in early spring. The rest of the tree really looks good.
