HELP - My acer going 'twiggy'

Hi all

My Acer palmatum Atropurpureum was planted in May 2008 in my front garden. It is in the centre of a 10ft square plot surrounded by rocks (a circle) and then grass. The plot is on a slight gradient towards the house and gets full sunlight after about 3.30pm at the min.

Last August/September the leaves shrivelled up and fell off. However this year the buds grew and new leaves came through and it looked great. I think the recent wet and windy weather may have taken its toll as the most outer branches have started to go 'twiggy' i.e. like dead sticks and it's making it's way down the branches.

Is this due to the wind and it's position? Or does it have a disease? What do I do - do I cut them off now? If so, where to? It still has most of it's leaves but they're getting holes in them.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Should I dig it out and put in the large pot instead?

Thanks

 

Hi Shivy I have the same type of Acer as you and each year I have those twiggy bits.I have found I get them each year as the Acer grows,so just think they are natural die back as part of the aging process of the Acer.I jsut break those ones off where they have died and find it makes the tree a bit tidier.If the dead twiggy bits are too thick then you can cut them off with something a bit stonger like Secataurs.:thmb:

A lot of my leaves have started to shrivvel and drop off,the first time ever and have put it down to the strong winds we have had recently plus I had allowed the root ball to dry out in the pot it is in permanently.With all the rain we had last week I thought it was getting enough water but obviously the leaf canopy was protecting the compost so with the wind it was drying out too much.

I am not having any holes chewed in my leaves of the Acer but have them in other garden plants and can't find out what is causing it.

Just keep the soil damp andhope that the tree recovers ready for next year.

By the way,we found thta our Acer didn't do any good planted in the garden 29 years ago so we dug it up planted it in a large pot of Ericacious compost and it has never looked back and looks good after all these years.When we have seen them growing in peat up in Scotish gardens they grow quiet tall:D

Hope yours picks up:thmb:

 

Thank you very much for your reply. I will break off the twiggy bits and hope it doesn't continue. The only thing I wonder is if it is going to go twiggy every year then is it ever going to get bigger?

I do think I will have to dig it up eventually and put it in a pot. I really love it in the front garden as it is my focus point. Not going to look right with a pot plonked on top of the ground though.

Do you think I could try and get hold of a massive plastic pot and submerge it in the ground so the top is level with the ground? Or do you think this would affect drainage?

I must say when we went through the bad weather patch recently I found some slugs all the way up the top of the tree! Yuk! I have now put some pellets down (which I hate but I have no idea how else to get rid) so hopefully if they have been attacking it, they won't anymore.

Poor thing - I love my acer and I really don't want it to die.

Thanks again!

 

Hello Shivy, in my last garden I had some fabuous acers - all grown on from seedlings.
They are not as straightforwaed as the labels would have you believe.
What they like is a damp peaty soil and not too much sun or wind.
I think you're right that the position is the problem.
Can you move it into a shady, sheltered corner.
Hope you can get the best from it - they are lovely - and expensive.

 

These trees need good drainage. All of the rain and windy weather we have all been having recently has been causing problems. The shrivelling and loss of leaves etc can be caused by far too much water and not getting the chance to drain away, as well as too litttle and strong drying winds.
Shivy ... you say your tree is on a slight gradient so possibly it is draining ok, and if so, then the wind and rain is doing the same to your tree as it is doing to everybody elses However ... check that possible problem out. Whilst the trees DO like damp conditions, they can NOT succeed in permanently wet ground.
The twiggy bits are probably as Kandyfloss describes ... natural die back (possibly encouraged this year by the winds). Simply cut them off clean with secateurs back to a healthy bud and keep an eye on the tree. Hopefully our weather will improve and help it too
If you have a suitable photograph we could give better advice

 

Your acer needs moisture retentive but free draining slightly acid soil. If its in clay then dig in lots of compost and grit into the planting hole to a depth of two spits and around the whole. Add some John Innes ericaous compost as well, plus some bonemeal when planting.

You also cannot plant it in just compost. Also make sure its not pot bound

Location. Light dappled shade providing protection from midday sun.

As its only been in a year you can dig it up and replant.

I cannot see that it should be suffering from any twiggy die-back

 

Ok here are some pics:









You can't quite see the gradient but its definately on a gentle slope.

When I planted it I did so with ericaous compost. I asked earlier this year if I needed to dig in anything else and I was told no. The soil is quite clay like round here so if I need to do anything please let me know.

I am tempted to dig it out and put it out the back although that gets sunlight for most of the afternoon although one side has more shade than the other. As you can see though if I take it out I need to replace it wtih something. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help.

 

That definitely looks like weather damage Shivy - too much sun or wind.

It would do better in a more sheltered corner. Dig in plenty of peat at planting time.

Good luck.

 

Clay soil doesn't drain very well, so may be part of your problem
Firstly I do not think that full sun in the UK is any problem whatsoever to Japanese maples, with very few exceptions, so 'dappled shade' is not an issue
Secondly I think your tree may well have a problem with drainage expecially with our recent constant rainfall, which has raised the water table considerably, coupled with your clay soil
Thirdly I would agree that your tree could be moved as it has only been planted less than a year
Fourthly I agree that the leaf damage is probably wind damage (we have been having a lot of that this year)
As you are clearly worried about the tree, I suggest that you consider digging it up, amending the soil and adding grit and compost and a little bone meal (enough to bring the surface level with your lawn), place your tree on top of this and build up around the root ball with more of the same sort of mix. This is a well established method of ensuring good drainage in clay soils and will help your acer no end. You will then need to stake it for this year at least until the root system develops enough to hold it in place.
However, if you consider that your wind problems are overly severe then you might well consider a different situation for the tree entirely, as suggested by Alice. I doubt if it needs more peat which would only contribute to a less free draining soil

 

I don't think it looks as bad as it might-I have two acers, both planted in the same bed-about two foot apart, one is totally stripped of it's new foliage and the other is looking a touch wind damaged-ie dry.



I would suggest, it is in too slightly an exposed position-it does look a bit like a wind tunnel coming off your neighbours driveways, move it now whilst it is young enough to take it, hide it from the wind, and then think about a rhododendron, or pieris in it's place-they can take the wind.

I humbly suggest that this is the issue with your acer, and nopt lack of drainage or nutrients.

 

Wind would get my vote as well... some of mine look very similar. Man, but it gets windy around here. I'm toying with the idea of building a "maple corner" in the most sheltered spot of my garden.

 

That is actually not a bad idea Rob
I am growing some of our native species trees to form a windbreak for a spot where I can plant out a lot of my self seeded Japanese maples
They look superb when planted together in a little woodland ... especially in autumn

 

Sam - any hints as to which species you'll be looking at for your windbreak?

I've planted what I hope will eventually turn into a semi-authentic hedgerow around the boundary of my property - hawthorn, beech, blackthorn, field maple and hazel, but it's going to be years before it actually has any shielding effect.

Must learn patience

 

The area I am working on is on the edge of my wildflower meadow, so I don't need ornamental trees. It is also quite wet, so trees like alder, willow, birch etc do quite well, even though they don't look great. I am also trying beech, oak, hawthorn and sycamore (not very native ). I must add a few evergreens as I get them, and will be adding in a few shrubs etc for decorative effect as and when i grow some freebies
Yip ... it is going to take a little while .........

 

Ah - sycamore! Never sure what to make of that. I have it coming up all over the show and the temptation is to introduce it into the hedge en masse. I'm worried that it will take over, though. It's by no means the prettiest of the Acers...