# Struggling Japanese Maple - help?



## jillyjill (May 13, 2008)

Hi all. I have a Japanese Maple tree (it's the little red one in the photo) that seems to be struggling. It has quite a few branches with no leaves, but it's holding on and I'd love to do what I can to save it. 

Last fall, we paid, gulp, $450 for some super-duper nutrient treatment to be introduced, but it doesn't seem to have helped much.

Does anyone have advice on what I can possibly to prevent the tree's downturn?

Thanks.
jill


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## ddhlakebound (May 13, 2008)

The two most common problems I've seen with small ornamentals are:

1. They are planted too deep. 

2. There is a girdling root constricting the root system. 

Your tree spefically looks a bit young to have a girdling root, but it's still possible.

Can you take a pic of the root flare (where the trunk meets the soil) for us?


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## jillyjill (May 13, 2008)

Hi. I'll definitely take a few pictures tomorrow, following your direction, and will post them. I look forward to hearing your feedback. Thanks - I love this site!!!

jill


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## M.D. Vaden (May 14, 2008)

Google "Verticillium Wilt" + Japanese Maples while you are at it.


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## jillyjill (May 14, 2008)

Hi all. I took a few shots of my poor Japanese Maple, that looks a lot worse than it did last year (although I'm comparing how it looks now vs August of last year, when I moved to the house).

One photo is of the point where the roots meet the soil - there seems to be 2 roots running parallel to the ground. I hope my shot is clear enough.

Thanks for the tip on Verticillium wilt, which may be the issue. This is my first spring at the first house I've ever owned - totally overwhelming!  

Thanks again for your help!
jill


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## ddhlakebound (May 14, 2008)

Hmmm......

I'm not sure exactly what I'm seeing in the pic of the root flare....There's a green shoot to the right of the trunk, or it looks that way anyway....What is it? Where does it originate on the trunk or the root flare? Is that the part with the majority of the foilage on it?

It certainly doesn't look to be planted too deep, but I'm still concerned with the root structure, and the possibility of girdling. 

Take another closer look at where that shoot originates and if that's the lively part of the tree. Also, gently (without harming any of the roots) excavate around the root flare, and maybe rinse some of the excess dirt away so we can get a clearer picture of the root growth. 

Verticillum wilt is introduced through root damage, so you want to be careful and gentle during the excavation. If it doesn't have it already, you don't want it to get it....


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## S Mc (May 15, 2008)

Jillyjill, 

If it is Verticillium wilt the tree is probably a goner. Don't replant something in the same place (at least that is susceptible to Vert. Wilt).

The other things we see here are: 

1) The roots growing alone side the trunk...they may be from other plants but possibly restricting the maple trunk (or at least competing for space). We have seen junipers constrict a full grown pine tree! So try wiggling them and see where they go. 

2) The side shoot with the green leaves is epicormic growth (from the grafted root stock). This will outcompete the graft of the red laceleaf. So, if you want the red laceleaf to stay, the side shoot should go. If the red laceleaf is a goner, you might want to save the green new shoot and see if it is more resistant to Vert wilt if that is the cause of decline. (So you really need to get a specific diagnosis.)

Laceleaf Japanese maples can be very fussy about placement, climatic conditions, etc. Their needs are specific. They grow well where azaleas and rhododendrons thrive. 

Not sure if any of this is helpful...but keep us posted.

Sylvia


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## jillyjill (May 15, 2008)

This is like trying to solve a puzzle! 

Sylvia - your advice was also helpful - thanks.

I did some more poking around based on all of your feedbackand took 2 more shots that I hope will help clear things up. (Sorry ddhlakebound that I didn't get in close enough in my first round - I don't mean to make your helping me any more difficult  .

There is a covering of some low-lying shrub all around the tree and the roots from that shrub are definitely right up against the bark of the maple, as seen in the photo.

So...if I cut back the shrubs, assuming that the tree isn't diseased, might that save it at this point? Or, given how it looks, is it more likely that it's been cut off too much for too long? I know that the tree is no less than 10 years old and the property had been pretty much neglected for years before we moved in less than 1 year ago.

I optimistically saw the new green growth as a hopeful sign, but I guess no such luck. 

Look forward to hearing back from you guys. Thanks!!!!
jill


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## ddhlakebound (May 15, 2008)

jillyjill said:


> This is like trying to solve a puzzle!
> 
> Sylvia - your advice was also helpful - thanks.
> 
> ...




You did just fine in your first set of pics, and these help even more. I want to back up a step now, because now I'm not sure that it is not planted too deep. 

It will definately help the Maple to clear the competing roots and give it as much space as possible. 

Great advice from S Mc on the extra sprout, it'll be up to you to decide in what direction to procede there. I don't think both will grow well if you can get the tree healthy. But don't be hasty in making a decision. 

We still need to know more about the root flare of the Maple. I originally thought the two parallel roots were from it, but since they're from a competing plant, we need to know how deep the Maples roots are set, and the pattern they're growing in. 

Last month I excavated a little Japanese Maple whose root flare was about six inches underground. Coupled with the fact that we had a very bad freeze on easter '07 after all our trees had budded/bloomed/leafed, left that JM in a bad way. A large amount of die back and root problems. I removed about 5 inches of sod and soil from its critical root zone, and pruned 2 small girdling roots. The owners said they'd immeadiately mulch it as instructed. 

Yours may need similar care. If you're comfortable doing the work, just do some searching here, there are others with more experience and more eloquence in describing the process in detail, and many pics and examples in the AS archives. Of course, I'll still answer your questions as well as I'm able. 

If this is getting into an area you're not so comfortable, time to start searching for a knowledgeable, trustworthy local arborist.


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## Thillmaine (May 15, 2008)

*Maple*

Where in NY are you? I used to work in the Albany area, and unless you were within a few hundred feet of the river, its unlikely your weeping jap maple will take the winters. Anywehre north, west of Albany, its a no go for weeping jap maples. Southern NY, like Duchess south they are hardy, maybe even all the way up into parts of Columbia/Greene county (they are question able their) So in short, I would say if you fit into one of these areas you can bet on winter kill. If not then listen to the wisdom of others.


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## jillyjill (May 15, 2008)

Wow - I don't mean to gush, but I'm so appreciative of the advice! Thanks so so much.

I also originally thought that the roots were an extension of the JM. Since I don't even know how to confidently re-pot a plant, I really do need to find an experienced arborist - I wouldn't even try to deal with this myself. Yikes, how do I go about doing that???

I'm located in upper-Westchester and in an area where the developer, in the mid 80's, designed totally different houses but was consistent on planting Japanese Maples. The house next to mine has 8 beautiful and mature ones in a row leading all the way up their driveway - no kidding. There are many in the 'hood' that seem to be doing very well, aside from my poor tree. I also have 2 others on the property that are doing just fine, so it's not the environment but rather something specifically to do with some situation around this tree.

Is there some sort of directory where I could possibly search for a qualified arborist? To be honest, I'm not a rich person but I live in a bit of a swanky zip code, so I'd love to have a good recommendation and not just have anyone come to the house and charge 2x+, just because. I don't mean to sound cynical, but only after 8 months in the house, I've seen it time and time again.

Thanks!!!!!!
jill


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## S Mc (May 16, 2008)

Jill, in looking for a qualified arborist there are a couple of websites to try

www.isa-arbor.com
www.treesaregood.com

However, also ask your local nurseries, neighbors, landscapers...basically, anyone you can think of and ask specifically about their experience in dealing with Japanese Maples or disease diagnostics, etc. See if any common name comes up. Because unfortunately, just being "certified" may or may not mean they are really good at what you need.

Be aware that 1) there are NO quick fixes. 2) of someone who wants to sell a product at an extremely high price with no references from real people (preferrably in your neighborhood).

I truly don't think this is a situation where a product is going to fix it. I think something else is going on. 

I agree with dhhlakebound that it appears (from your latest pics) that it was planted too deep. Planting too deep will not kill most plants outright, they will just struggle forever making them more susceptible to other problems. 

Are the other Japanese maples in the neighborhood and your yard the same laceleaf species? The latter being more delicate than some of the other species.

Good Luck! Your garden is absolutely beautiful, by the way! 

Sylvia


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## Thillmaine (May 16, 2008)

*shoots to roots*

Try shoots to roots out of Jefferson Valley..
www.shootstoroots.com


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## capetrees (May 16, 2008)

If I didn't know better, I'd swear the one that designed this landscape designed the one we recently updated with the EXACT same problem and scene. 
The problem is first off, neglect. The regrowth of the tree, as mentioned the epicormic growth, needs to be cut off. I know it seems drastic but it works out in the end. The idea is to have one trunk and the branches above wilt outward to form an umbrella canopy about 4 feet around. Your biggest problem, and again its going to be drastic, is the juniper below it. These things are agressive and most likely is the reason for the starved look of your tree. The roots of the juniper have taken over the same area as the JM and they are also robbing the JM of its water and nutrients. Do you want the JM? Remove the juniper and start over with somethiong different, less invasive and more allowing of the maple to thrive. After removing the junipers from around three JM in a garden here, we replanted the are below the JM with vinca. After removing the juniper, water the tree heavy for a day and then every other day for a month. The roots will be injured after removing the juniper and will need to be able to absorb as much water otherwise so be liberal with the water. Also, add a little organic fertilizer, Tree-tone if you can get it or even simple Plant-tone from Espoma. You can't over fertilize with these unless you really over do it. The JM will take some time to recover but in the end, its really worth it. 

 Good luck


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## masterarbor (May 18, 2008)

here in ohio last year we had a late frost that damaged many jmaples. did you guys have a similar occurrence?


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## jillyjill (May 18, 2008)

Hi again. I'm happy to say that I got the names 2 local arborists (so far)so I've got some homework to do in order to figure out which to pursue. But...I'm on the right track, thanks to you all.

Sylvia - thanks for the compliment on the garden. Although the pulse of my area is low (= boring), it is quite beautiful.

We had a few snows this past winter, but since the other JMs are fine, I'm sure that weather or any other general factor is not the issue with my tree.

I'm going to cut off the new green growth from my little tree tomorrow - wish me luck.

Thanks!!!
jill


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