Saving a Japanese Maple

10 years ago

Hi everyone,

I've been reading the GardenWeb forums for awhile now and finally decided to join up and post myself. Although I've grown a few plants in the past, I'm fairly new to gardening. I've recently tried saving a Japanese Maple and would like to hear any input or suggestions that might help me with this or other trees in the future.

Two years ago I moved into a house that a friend had bought and the previous owner had planted a Japanese Maple in front of the house. The first year it looked OK, but didn't seem to be growing much. Last summer it looked very unhealthy with lots of dead branches and only a little bit of new growth.

Over this winter I realized that our yard was very badly infested with moles and that they were probably one of the causes for the unhealthy JM. My landlord/roommate does not care about landscaping whatsoever, and he agreed to me transplanting the tree to try and save it.

I did some research and decided to put it in a large container with Al's Gritty Mix. When digging the tree out of the yard, I may have not gone far enough away from the trunk. I may have severed some larger roots, but I thought it might be OK still since a fair number of feeder roots were left intact. I also noticed that some of the roots already appeared to be chewed short and black, my guess was this was the work of the moles.

I cut away all of the dead material at the top of the tree, scraping each branch as I worked my way down to make sure I stopped at the sight of green. I planted it in a larger plastic container with wiring to support the tree upwards, as it had lost some of it's larger roots. I topped the soil with some of Happy Frog's Japanese Maple fertilizer and have been watering the tree often over the past couple of weeks.

This past weekend I saw that the bud growth had progressed, which I assume means the transplant wasn't a total failure! I did notice that some of the branches have different characteristics, which are now my main concern.

First off there's the green growth, most of it looks fairly healthy and the buds are getting about an inch long. Shoots off some of the green growth have a browning color/texture which doesn't look too healthy to me (see below). I'm not sure if this is normal or not, so please chime in if you have any ideas.

Then there are the branches that are a deep red, almost black in some areas. I believe this is normal of the JM's but want to make sure nothing funky is going on.

If anyone has any feedback or suggestions on my grow, I'd greatly appreciate it. I know my container could be bigger, but my idea was to turn this tree into an oversized bonsai if everything went well. I'm also considering using some of the larger green growth to graft some lower branches onto the trunk next winter. Sorry for the not-so-focused pics, my iPhone can't seem to focus on branches.

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Comments (4)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
10 years ago
First, mole are not the problem - they are carnivores and don't eat plants. There is a possibility of some other sort creature that might have fed on the roots (voles?) but can't confirm with the photos provided.

Regardless, the tree now has a very compromised root system and will need some serious TLC if to survive. You have two types of JM showing based on both red and green branches. Green is most likely the root stock (straight Acer palmatum) and the red is the grafted top portion, which I assume to be a red laceleaf by the shape/habit of the tree from the first photo. So no need to graft any of the green further down - that's already what it is and will very likely sprout some latent shoots all on its own.

All I would suggest for the time being is keep it out of direct sunlight, water as needed and just keep a close eye on it. No more fertilizing!! One should never fertilize a stressed tree and it is doubtful the Happy Frog is of much value in a container situation anyway (dry organic ferts are not very effective in a container - only with inground plantings). You can use any water soluble or liquid fertilizer you prefer but wait until at least midseason when the tree has stabilized a bit from the transplant shock and root disruption.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
10 years ago
If it was me I would remove all of the green rootstock growth and concentrate on growing only the red portions of the tree. The green detracts from the red and is usually so vigorous that it will over take it if left alone.
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Andy W
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks for your input!

Gardengal, I guess I must have confused the mole/vole pests since they sound so alike. I have yet to see exactly what is burrowing in our yard, but I step on tunnels left and right.

I had no clue that the red and green were different types of JM. I need to start doing my homework. Just curious, do nurseries sell trees that are grafted like this? The previous owners didn't seem like the landscaping type, so I'd be surprised if they grafted it themselves.

I will cut the fertilizer out for now per your suggestion. I've also got some foliage pro that I'm using on some pre-bonsai trees, maybe I will try that later on in the season. The tree is sitting on my deck behind a wall at the moment. It catches the morning sun, but is shaded all afternoon. I don't have many areas to put the tree, but it could always go on the other side of the wall if afternoon sun would be better.

cearbhaill, the green is definitely growing like a weed compared to the red portions. I do not plan on letting it take over the tree, but I figured I would let it grow a bit this season. I'm considering using green cuttings later on to start some new trees.
Huggorm
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
I had no clue that the red and green were different types of JM. I need
to start doing my homework. Just curious, do nurseries sell trees that
are grafted like this? The previous owners didn't seem like the
landscaping type, so I'd be surprised if they grafted it themselves.

Yes, all JM cultivars are factory grafted, you can't legally do it yourself because they are trademarkt. I guess there are huge nurseries somewhere with staff that are grafting maples all day long