Plant Doctor Archive

Ailing maple

I'VE enclosed a leaf of my maple, Acer palmatum 'Shindeshojo' which has been looking sick recently. Can you help?

JAPANESE maples often get this look in early autumn after a dry summer. Auckland had very little rain during autumn but a lot of wind, which can quickly desiccate tender foliage.

But don't worry. New growth next spring will be as fresh as ever.

The best way to try to avoid the problem again is to apply plenty of mulch around the root system to conserve soil moisture in summer, water during prolonged dry periods and, if possible, provide as much protection from strong wind as possible.

Reproduced with permission from the former Weekend Gardener magazine. The views expressed here are not necessarily those of the RNZIH.