Rescued Japanese Red Maple

Earl Pigg · May 5, 2014

This weekend I was picking up a Kumquat tree at my local nursery and spotted a tree on it's side with a guy sawing on it.
I walked over to see what it was and saw that it was a red maple.
I stopped him before he cut anything else off of it and found the person in charge only to be told that the owner "wanted rid of it"
I offered 10 bucks for it and they sold it to me.
It has narrow leaves and normal leaves, is there something wrong with it that a little love and plant food won't fix?

Earl Pigg · May 5, 2014

So, after looking at a shedload of pictures, is it a Red Pygmy?
If so, I don't understand why it has a few "regular" leaves, and then mostly Pygmy leaves.

PJM · May 8, 2014

Sorry, but I think you overpaid. Problems will arise from sloppy cut to the top, and the crotch & wound just below it.

As for the leaves, they can be highly variable between trees and within the same tree.

Earl Pigg · May 13, 2014

Thanks for your input. I have to let you know that I'm the person who buys the half dead plants at the grocery store for a buck, the distressed nursery plants, and the like.
Some die, most live and I end up with a beautiful plant.
I've painted the wound to protect it while it heals, and hopefully I'll train it to grow into a nice specimen.
This one is worth it to me because it's highly seeded so if all else fails I'll end up with a ton of babies.