Hallson Gardens

Help! We have a well-established 'Omurayama' japanese maple in a shady location. It has been there 8 or more years, growing steadily. This year the leaves came out, but never really fully expanded, and now they're starting to brown and drop.

We've had an extremely wet spring (with moderate temperatures), and I'll warrant that this tree is not planted in well-drained soil, but why would it go south so fast? It was spectacular last fall.

David

Edit: looking at pictures of verticillium wilt in maples, but this doesn't look like that. The leaves are limp on the entire tree, not just from some branch tips.

Maples in general do not like soggy soil. I suspect that, in this case, all it took was one soggy season to do it in.

Viktoria

Thanks, Vik. Any likelihood that it will recover on its own? All I can think is that we mulched it a little more this year (but still not right against the trunk).

As to soggy soil, tell that to my bumper crop of acer rubrum! I wonder, if this palmatum bites it, if I could plant that cool coral-barked pennsylvanicum I saw at Eve Thyrum's this week...

Tigger, I have a cousin and she does strictly maples. I know they can get a virus. I don't remember what it's called as one of ours had it, I was told not
to grow maples for a few years after this. That was 10 years ago and a couple years ago. We recently got a new maple so we are watching it carefully due
to our extremely wet and cooler weather.

Once JM's soil gets too wet they go down hill quickly. I don't know if digging it up would save it or not, but may be worth a try.
Here I always raise them by about a third of the rootball when planted. Then I "terrace" with rocks and soil. In this climate we never know whether we will be in the midst of drought or flood.

I seriously doubt it will recover, David.

Your post sent me to look at an A. palmatum in my front yard. Bad news! At least it still has a couple of live branches although mostly it is dead. Have to consider whether it is worth saving or whether I should yank it.

Viktoria

I also doubt it will recover. If you've already looked up Verticulum wilt and the symptoms are not like that, then I don't have info to offer. I've lost some JMs to very cold winters, since they are grafted, some can be more sensitive than others. Omure Yama is such a beautiful tree too, what a shame.

If you suspect a virus, I would also recommend not placing a replacement in the same soil. If you are in a zone 7ish area, you might be able to place a potted tree in the same spot temporarily but if the drainage is an issue, it may not be the best place for a maple.

Laura