Photos if you can, please. And details about what exactly the sort of container soil you have used to pot it up.

There's a photo at the link in the OP.

Here it is again. https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipNEzvcY0r9ewnytBiz86gOfRqHce-9oTPkZ8YzdHmErgUeE9C5Ia-PVglXa420eSA?key=QUZUOVVlRTZrX1htSDU4bDMybm9VR1dyNXVhcXRR

It doesn't look all that out of line with normal seasonal change. The dry and brown foliage could be an indication that it got a little too dry recently. I grow all my JM's in containers also and they exhibit that stress from time to time and often, more so the closer we get to winter, as I cut back on watering compared to what I do in summer due to increased rainfall.....which may not always be sufficient if a full canopy (deflects the rainfall). They always come back fine in spring.

Check the buds on the few limbs with the dry, brown leaves. If they are plump and of good color (not browned or gray), then you should be fine.

Would be good to get more detail on your potting mix as well.

Hello!

thank you for the responses! its good to know I can get some help when my tree is looking a little sick. I wouldn't want to lose my tree baby!

I live in an apartment facing Southeast, so I don't have much shade and I can't put the tree to ground, my only option is a container.

I am using a pine box container with half pine woodchips and half standard potting soil.

the soil is a bit damp usually since I am in Seattle, my biggest concern is that all of the other crimson queen acers im seeing around me have beautiful fall leaves right now and mine is crispy and brown.

thank you again for all your help! I really want to keep my Acer happy and healthy.

Only a few of your leaves are crispy and brown........the rest look fine. And to be honest, growing JM's in containers does take quite a bit more work than if they were planted in the ground and if conditions are not ideal, they can look a little rough, especially at this time of year. Most of mine look great, some look a little stressed and few others have either dropped all their leaves already or the leaves look crispy and dry much like yours.

I am not concerned about any of them :-) The ones that are crispy and brown just needed more late season water than they received - an indication they need to be root pruned and repotted this winter.

my biggest concern is that all of the other crimson queen acers im seeing around me have beautiful fall leaves right now and mine is crispy and brown.

==>>> unless they are all in pots.. on a balcony ... etc ... then you may be comparing apples to oranges ....

sooooo.... i bet those will start looking like yours in a few weeks ...

yours is early.. most likely.. because somehow it got minimally stressed during the growing season .... so its shutting down a little earlier ....

you dont provide enough facts of the whole season.. to speculate what happened ....

imo.. it is not sick .... its just a little early for fall shutdown ... dont worry about it ...

also... fert is never a response to stress ... and also... dont fert in fall.. when a tree is going dormant .... that would be loving it towards death .... fert lightly in spring ...

ken

Not at all early for the fall "shutdown"!! Many trees here, including JM's, have dropped leaves by now.........it IS almost November after all! And it has been very breezy in the greater Seattle area as well, which increases leaf drop.

Had to drive through downtown yesterday evening and the majority of street trees have lost their leaves.....piles of them along the curbing! And as I stated, some of my JM's have already dropped all their leaves, a few have dropped about half and some hardly any at all. It all depends on exposure.

With a drop in the overnight temps to the low 40's - high 30's, you can expect to see a lot more leaves falling in the next few days.