Is this Japanese Maple a goner?

5 months ago

last modified: 5 months ago

We've had this tree for about 12 years. When it was 3 years old, one of the main branches up top broke off during a bad hurricane and the rest of the tree was somewhat beat up, but still standing. It came back but has never been the same since. Last year I did a soil test and made the recommended adjustments. It didn't seem to help much.
If there are any Japanese Maple experts out there, please let me know if it's time to give up. Thank you!

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Marlene Pedersen
Original Author

5 months ago

Thank you for these comments / suggestions. I am in zone 7, central New Jersey. I didn't do much pruning at all until last year and even then I only cut off small branches or stems that looked sickly. The tree does leaf out and is hanging in there but never looks nearly as good as others I see. Regarding the sun comment, it gets more this time of year because my large trees haven't leafed out but once they do, it gets about 3 hours morning sun, then a couple hours of dappled sun, then mid-afternoon for about an hour it gets full sun and shade after that (3 PM-ish on). I can't move the tree to see how it does in a different spot, though I love that idea - wish I could, there is just no spot that would work. I will take the advice offered and wait and see how it leafs out before calling it quits. I'll post another photo at that time. Thank you all - much appreciated!

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Comments (6)

BillMN-z4a
5 months ago
Welcome!

I'm not an expert but if I was working with a tree that hasn't performed in the last 9 years, I can see the frustration there.

You didn't say where you're located but I would hope zone 6 or higher?

Has the tree leafed out well in the summers?

The root flare looks great and if you just fertilized it, you might want to give it another season to see how it responds to that.

How much sun does it get? A lot of JM's like some afternoon shade instead of all day, direct sun.

The idea is to make your plants happy by giving them their preferred conditions, so they'll thrive.

Our resident JM expert, GardenGal48 might chime in about this but I'm not sure of her availability status at this time.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 months ago
It's not a goner yet but it sure doesn't look very good.........sorry. At this time of year, I would expect to see a lot of healthy, plump leaf buds on all the viable stems and it is hard to see any at all. Also, there is a lot of gray colored deadwood in the tree whereas there should be a lot of little branches of a more brownish-red color (you can see a few but not many).

I'd wait until the JM's in your area are fully leafed out before I made a decision. It is far easier to see the dieback and deadwood then and you can better judge how much the tree has declined.

The question is whether to keep or remove. As I am always hesitant to shovel prune a viable plant, this tree appears to be in a pretty visible location so I'd be tempted to move it somewhere less conspicuous to see if it will respond better with time. Or just start over with a new tree.........your choice.

It could also do with some judicious pruning to tidy it up and get rid of the deadwood.
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bengz6westmd
5 months ago
It doesn't look good, but post a pic of it when it's fully leafed out, and we may be able to give better advice.
Marlene Pedersen thanked bengz6westmd
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
5 months ago
last modified: 5 months ago
Note "judicious" pruning. It appears to have suffered some injudicious pruning in the past. There are lots of blunt stubs which imply cuts weren't taken back to a node and outward facing bud.
Marlene Pedersen thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
Binky PoodinHead
5 months ago
I've planted and grown more than 100 varieties of Japanese maples and I like all their shapes. I even like the shape of yours. Is it the shape that you don't like or does it leaf less than others?