Poorly acer needs help

[color=][/color]hi all. Newbie to the forum and new to gardening too.

About 5 weeks ago we bought a small acer and some other plants and shrubs. We have also been landscaping a lot and it took a lot longer than we expected to get the plants planted in the new borders / raised sections.

So our acer was potted for about 4 weeks and the leaves started to droop. They've now gone grey and shrivelled. I would say 70%. Finally planted it last week And hoping It's not too late to save it. Is there anything I can do? Do I cut off the dead leaves and how far down? Literally just cut the leafy part or cut the stem part too?

Any advice appreciated

. Hoping my first attempt at gardening isn't a complete disaster!

 

Hello and welcome to Gardeners Corner.

Do you have any pics of your poorly acer? I don't know a great deal about them other than they are prone to 'wind burn' which causes the leaves to shrivel up, but it could be other things I guess.

 

Was it well watered? Sufficient water helps Acers that are stressed.

Is it one of the fancy Japanese Acers? perhaps with finely cut leaves? They can be "difficult", and are likely to hate wind and full sun. I have several here, planted in a sheltered spot with dappled shade. Some of them are doing really well, some are hating it

I wouldn't cut anything off, I would let it recover and then see if any bits have resprouted, or not, and only then cut them off.

 

hi thank you for replying. Sorry the pics aren't very good I couldn't see the screen in the sunshine. Ah I see I think it must be too sunny where it is currently and maybe wind and sun burn! . Looking at the picks would u cut the leaves off? My mother in law told me to but when I started I wasnt sure. Will definitely move it to a more shaded spot. Thanks again

 

The leaves will fall off when they are ready - you can take them off to make it less unsightly but it won't make much difference I don't think. Either those stems will recover and new shoots come ... or not :(

 

Hi
A few things to think about with acers... They prefer dappled sunshine .. Ie semi shade
When in containers. Watering is paramount...... But drainage is just as important. Excess water needs to be able to escape and drain away. Also wind damage ... Acers don't like windy or draughty areas..... If you can accommodate these things you will have the most amazing plant... And get bitten by the acer bug.....collecting numerous different varieties

 

What Doug says is correct and to the point. These plants have a second set of buds for just this occurence. You may well be lucky if you follow the above advice