Japanese Maple struggling

[chuckcintron]

First timer here, hoping to get some advice about my little Japanese Maple (which I think is a "Tamukeyama" variety?)

Anyway, early spring the tree was doing great - waterfalls of dark red leaves. I trimmed just little, like I do every spring. Since then it's been going downhill. It has grey patches on its leaves, and it lost a lot of leaves. Here is what I did so far:

1. The soil it was in was dense clay for the first 12". After that, it's sandy/rocky and drains. So I dug up the first 12" of soil being careful not to harm the roots, and I replaced it (nearly a yard) with fresh organic soil mixed with peat moss and washed kiddie sand (60:30:10). I also noticed that the tree had previously been buried too far, so I made sure the root flare was correctly exposed now.

2. I went over every branch on the tree and pruned away every last dead twig.

3. I saturated it three different times over a 10 day period with "Captain Jack's Copper based Fungicide". Top to bottom, every surface.

4. I let it dry out for a few days (no rain) and then gave it a good deep-watering.

After 3 weeks now I really can't tell if it's improving. There are some new/tiny red leaves appearing, but some of them are already shriveled up. Any advice/insight would be very appreciated. Photos attached:

 

[Del_]

Is that a rain gutter I see in the background?

 

[chuckcintron]

That's the front porch roof post - but yes there is a rain gutter in the corner (out of frame) -- which is piped into a buried PVC line that exits 20' away, down-slope. I don't think it's perforated, it's the black flexible pipe. The tree was planted by the prior owners and has been in place for at least 7 years.

 

[Bullseye T&L]

First, good for you on replanting at the correct depth. I hope that you took care of any girdled roots while you had it out. That may end up being the difference between losing it and keeping it. But, since you basically transplanted it (into new soil), it will have to redevelop the root system, or at least the contact of the fine roots with the new soil. This will take time, so be patient. Don't expect any heroic recovery this season. And keep it watered because it essentially a transplant. And no fertilizer until next season. Fertilizer could be bad news to the roots in their state.

Now, here is what I see. The spots on the leaves look like a fungal infection. If I had to guess, I would say anthracnose, but it could be a couple of other things. You've already sprayed it with copper, which is a contact fungicide. I would go ahead and hit it with a systemic fungicide too. Propiconazole is a common one that you can find pretty much anywhere. Follow label directions on any fungicide, though. I suspect you were a little overzealous with the copper. The fungicide treatments aren't going to do anything miraculous this year, but they will knock down the infection so that it can recover during the off season. Start your fungicide regimen early next year and be consistent.

Oh, and be sure to sanitize your tools every time you prune.

 

[chuckcintron]

Thanks for that advice, it makes sense. I didn't know what "girdled roots" was until I just looked it up. I don't think I had any of those (picture attached). Yes, new soil for around 8" of depth. The new soil does have fertilizer in it but hopefully not too much : (

I'll look for a good systemic fungicide, thanks.

 

[Bullseye T&L]

You're gonna be fine. That doesn't look bad at all. I've seen way worse.

 

[chuckcintron]

Thanks - hope so! : ) I found some propiconazole 14.3 I can order, and will read up about how to properly use it.