Hello, reading some forum post, I was struck by the fact that many people it has the same problem, which is repeated year after year, many leaves that dry when it arrives the heat. There are always varieties of maples, which are more sensitive than others, but what I believe, and I would say, that everything I am going to say, is valid for everyone. I think that maple cultivation should start at the roots, without a good root system, everything will be problems, which will worsen, depending on the area where they are cultivated, it is not the same to cultivate a maple in the Netherlands as in the north of Africa. They are not the same conditions, neither the irrigation, nor the temperature, nor the substrate, everything will be very different from one place to another and from one fan to another, but I think that this is the case in which everyone is , all our maple cultivation must be centered fundamentally on a good root system, especially in the first years of cultivation of our precious maples. I think that the problem of the leaves drying out is not the sun, nor the lack of water, or the wind, although there will be people who do not think the same, the main problem is the lack of roots. A lot of people I know and grow maples, if they see their maples dry their leaves in the summer, put their trees in the shade, spray them frequently to provide a humid environment, they are very careful that the soil stays moist, all These practices help, of course, but the problem is never solved and year after year the leaves dry again, the problem is still in the tree, it lacks roots. I tell you all this, because temperatures will soon start to rise, and many people will start another year dragging that problem. You have to find a good balance between roots and aerial part. The roots must be able to provide all the water the plant requires and if the leaves cannot dry out, the growth stops and the branching will be very little, and more than half the season that should be growing we only have one tree ugly, and prone to many diseases, because of its weakness, a pity, to see that our dream collapses day after day, and we are not able to solve it. As I have previously commented, the first years of our maple that we have bought, or grafted, with the illusion of seeing it grow strong and healthy, should focus on promoting a large mass of roots, if we focus on creating a good root system, our tree in no time will reward us. But the question, arrived at this moment, is: How is this achieved? First we must have a substrate that drains a lot, with particles from 0.15 "to 0.23" or even more, that allows the passage of air and the fair retention of moisture and can be watered whenever you need it, of course, and although irrigation is a lot of work, especially in very hot areas, the results will be seen in a short time. Second, do not try to do anything on the tree, neither grafts nor pruning, nothing, just let it grow. It has happened to many of us when we have a maple, we want to do many things that we have been advised or that we have read, and when putting them into practice we have realized that it has not responded as we expected, and what we thought was an advance turns out that It has been a great setback, so everything in its time. Third the pot, it should be large, but without going over, it should be transplanted every two years at most, although the substrate can last longer. During the transplant you have to focus on balancing the roots, pruning the thick ones a lot and the minimum or not at all on the fine ones, this way we branch the thick ones and the fine ones are balanced. Once we get roots of similar vigor around the trunk, we must focus on all of them branching abundantly. A good idea in this phase, is the use of grid pots to speed up the process, I personally use fruit drains, below I leave you a photo of one, in this type of pots the transplant must be done every year, in the drainpipe the birth of ciliary roots is spectacular and also they do it very close to the trunk, you have to be careful because the growth of fine roots is so great that the main roots are very fattening and therefore you have to transplant every year and balance them. And so far, this is it.
Hi zfrittz, I think that all maple enthusiasts on this forum will agree with your thread, that concentrating on good and healthy root growth is the most important thing to concentrate on especially in the first few years of the tree's life. Unfortunately so many new purchasers of maples from garden centres and supermarkets are more concerned with speedy upper growth for instant impact, often feeding with high amounts of nitrogen and not phosphorus for root growth and then wonder why over the years that the leaves do suffer during Summer. The bulk growers of maples and all plants tbh force the trees into growth to look good to sell, not thinking about good root systems. This is why an enthusiast will only buy from a reputable grower.
I agree with most of what is said apart from not pruning. When planting out, I do root prune to remove circling roots and promote root branching. I always remove any circling roots at the very least. To counter this, I always remove some of the top growth and will thin out the tree to remove the burden on the roots and this helps avoid drying of the leaves in hot weather provided they are kept watered. I have often been surprised at how far the surface roots will spread out in one season, especially with a good mulch. May be different for others but this works well for me.
