Trees - Japanese Maple
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(February) Late last summer I purchased three types of trees. All being about 4 ft. tall. I have two Buckeye, two Red Bud and two Japanese Maple trees. The Japanese Maples I planted in a five gallon pot with good potting soil and have them in the sun room. The other four trees I also planted in a 5 gallon pot with potting soil, and they are outside. My question is, when and how do I plant them in the ground? I would like to plant one of the Japanese Maples in a corner of my house that faces SW. (The seller suggested that I pot them through the winter). The other five trees will be planter in the backyard receiving the morning and some afternoon sun.

  Fall would have been a fantastic time to plant them, but hindsight is always 20/20. I am curious why it was recommended that they go in containers for the winter? For now, plant all the trees that are currently outside. The sooner they are planted, the quicker they can establish a root system, and the faster they will grow. The Japanese maples that are indoors surprises me. They like to go dormant. How well are they doing inside? Unfortunately, you can't move it out until spring, since it would not be hardened off enough after its stint indoors. The Japanese maple would benefit from a bit of afternoon shade, but otherwise can be planted in the soil.

(May) My Japanese maple tree started to leaf out this spring, and then just stopped. The leaves that began to grow, shriveled and died, and nothing else has happened. I thought maybe it got hit by a cold snap or something, and would recover, but there are no new leaves in sight. The tree is three years old and has done well every year. I amended the soil well at planting, it is well drained, and I have watered when dry. When I look at the tree, there is some unusual type of growth coming out of the trunk -- small straight tube-like growth, all around the trunk of the tree. What is happening and is there anything I can do to save my tree?

  Unfortunately, you are not alone. While we have seen some signs of this insect pest in the past, it seems to have hit us hard this spring. The insect is called an Asian ambrosia beetle. This small beetle is a relatively new pest and has numerous hosts it can attack, including maples -- both Japanese and Red Maples, redbuds, ornamental cherry, peach, plum, dogwood, styrax and even azaleas. The pest was first detected on young peach trees in South Carolina in 1974. Female beetles bore into the sapwood of stems and young thin-barked trees. The boring is not what kills the tree -- death is caused by fungal infection that is spread by the insects, as they tunnel into the heartwood of the tree. Traditionally, boring type insects attack plants that were weak or stressed, but that is not the case with the Asian ambrosia beetle. It will attack seemingly healthy trees. We have had numerous reports of strong, healthy trees which either began to leaf out and died, or simply didn’t leaf out at all. So far, most of the dead or damaged trees we have seen include Japanese maples, red maples and redbuds. An easily identifiable marker is the toothpick-like strands of sawdust that stick out along the trunk of the tree. It is composed of the boring dust produced by the insect as she makes her tunnels in the tree. This "sawdust" can wash off or blow off easily, and will leave behind small holes. Once you see the sawdust tubes, the tree is often gone. Infested wood is discolored and has a foul odor. Dead trees should not be left in the landscape -- they should be cut down and destroyed. Take precautions on nearby valuable young trees, by spraying the trunks of the trees with a product containing permethrin or bifenthrin. Some common trade names include: Hi-Yield 38 Plus, Turf, Termite and Ornamental insect Control, Eight insecticide and Talstar. Other products are available. Check the label to make sure it is labeled for boring insects. Since the Asian ambrosia beetle does not consume the wood it is tunneling through, systemic insecticides have not proven effective for control.

Since this pest has not limited its attack to unhealthy trees, if you have valuable Japanese maples or red maples, redbuds and dogwoods in the landscape, you may want to take the precautionary approach and spray the tree trunks now. Follow label directions as to recommended frequency of application, since products do vary. Our recommendation for next season, would be to apply the product March 1, and then as recommended on the label until the end of May. For this year, one or two applications applied to the trunk would be advisable now, again, according to label directions. While we don’t want to cause widespread panic, enough plants have been infested this spring, that we don’t want to ignore the issue. The fact that the plants in question are often some of the more pricey items in the landscape - i.e., Japanese maples - is another call to action. If you have questions, visit our website at www.uaex.edu or call your local county extension agent.

  (July) I have a Bloodgood Japanese maple that has been in the ground for two years now. It's in a nice begonia bed that is mostly light shade with only about one hour or so of full sun daily. Last summer and already this year it looks awful. The leaves have turned brown, crispy and are falling off. The bed gets good water and the other plants in it are thriving. I do work in some blood meal when I'm getting it ready for spring plants. After last years fiasco of burned leaves, I made sure I didn't get any of the blood meal close to the base of the maple, but it's looking nearly dead right now. Can you please help shed some light on this for me?

  Japanese maples can get tip-burned from too much sun, too little water, too much fertilizer or chemical burn. Be sure to check all of these. You may also want to have your soil tested to see if there is any problem there. Blood meal is high in nitrogen and if you used too much could burn. Keep in mind that the root system is wide spreading -- as far out as the tree is tall, so limiting fertilizer near the base isn’t that effective. Check the main trunk as well. We were hit this spring by the Asian ambrosia beetle, and there was the possibility of a second generation in late May, but I haven't had any confirmed damage from the second group. If there was damage to your tree from this beetle, you should see small toothpick-like protrusions of frass, tiny holes in the tree trunk, and if dead, the inner wood will be discolored and have an off odor. Investigate a little further and see if you can spot any problems.

  (September) I planted a small Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum dissectum "Ever Red," next to my front porch about 6 years ago. I foolishly ignored the average height and width listed on the tag because our soil is so bad (mostly rock) that nothing ever seems to reach the size the tags says they should. The maple grew slowly and did beautifully with sun in the morning and shade in the afternoon. Now, it seems that it's suddenly getting too big for the spot! It's just short of 3 feet tall but the branches are 8 feet across! The height isn't a problem; the width is starting to be. Can this type of tree be pruned and still maintain it's beautiful cascading shape or do I need to try to move it to a spot where it can grow as much as it wants? Thanks for your help!

  Personally, I would move the tree somewhere that it can grow unchecked. While you can prune a dwarf Japanese maple, it often ruins their natural grace. If the tree has great form, move it this fall after it loses its leaves and let it grow. If moving is an issue, it can be pruned, but do it as sparingly as possible.

  I had a Japanese maple tree that started to leaf back out in December and had quite a bit of new, young foliage, plus older leaves that hadn’t fallen. Now, of course, all of that foliage is fried, but it hasn’t fallen off the tree. Does this mean the branches that it is attached to are dead? I have seen similar problems on neighbors dogwoods and Bradford pears. How far back should I prune it, and when is the proper time? Is there some way I could have prevented or helped in some way? (Benton)

  Unfortunately, when it is weather related, there is often little you can do. The mild fall and early winter weather was unavoidable, and plants simply responded. One of the reasons the leaves haven’t’ fallen off is they simply didn’t complete their full life cycle and the abscission layer didn’t form. The abscission layer is what allows the leaves to separate from the tree. As to damage, that remains to be seen. Probabilities for damage seem to be high, since many plants hadn’t sufficiently hardened off before bitter cold hit. At this stage, lets hope for the best, and see how our plants respond in the spring. Then prune as needed.

  I purchased a Japanese maple from a local nursery approx. 2 months ago. It is planted in a raised bed and has full sun all day. It is not doing well, the leaves are curling on the edges and are dying, what can I do to save this tree?

  The problem is probably heat stress. Japanese maple trees actually do better as understory trees, with afternoon sun and heat protection. Keep it watered as much as possible without drowning it, and it should survive. Chances are good it will sunburn every year in hot weather. Is it possible to move it to a more protected spot this fall?

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