I don't see anything wrong with it on the surface but it would certainly help to know what cultivar it is. It might be helpful to know that JM's go through distinct leaf colorations: the first in spring with the new growth; the second in midseason (mid-late spring to early fall) and the final one in fall before leaf drop. They can also exhibit both adult and juvenile foliage types which can look very different from each other.

Neem oil doesn't 'protect' plants from insects - it's not a preventative treatment. It will only help to control certain insect pests when they are present. That's the only time (and reason) you should be spraying. Also, Japanese maples have very sensitive foliage and can be easily damaged by pretty much any type of pesticidal spray. Best just to use a strong stream of water to dislodge whatever insects you might find in the future

I turned the house upside down, but I found the original tag! It is a Bloodgood (Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum). Not sure if you needed all of that, but I didn't know if there were different kinds of bloodgoods :) I understand what you mean about neem oil. I did have a few bugs on my cherry trees, and I put it on that one for good measure, but I will be more cautious about that in the future. I try to keep chemicals out of my yard because of my dogs anyway. Let me know if this still looks normal for the leaves now that you know the name. Thank you!!!!

Good for you for digging up the tag!! And yes, the leaves still look perfectly normal AFA any disease or insect problems are concerned. But you do not have a true 'Bloodgood' - those leaves would be a solid wine red if you did.

'Bloodgood' is arguably the most popular and widely sold cultivar of Japanese maple and has been so for many years. Because of that popularity, any number of less than ethical growers have flooded the market with so-called bloodgood look-alikes, typically seedling grown trees. Since all named forms of JM can only be propagated asexually, typically by grafting, any seedling trees are just plain old Japanese maples regardless of the name of the tree that generated the seeds. And ones with red leaves or mostly red leaves are usually attributed to the varietal name atropurpureum. So Acer palmatum var. atropurpureum translates to simply 'red leaved Japanese maple :-)

It's hard to find a true 'Bloodgood' in commerce unless you frequent retail nurseries that bring in JM's only from reputable growers. And even that can be a bit of an issue, depending on the provenance of the tree they were taking graft cuttings from. So if that was a great deal maple found at Home Depot or Costco or other non-nursery outlets, chances are very good it is not true to name.

But that doesn't mean it isn't a perfectly acceptable and attractive little tree. It's just not a real 'Bloodgood'.