Maples - Should I remove the leaves now? (Due to die back)

[Sean M]

Well my trident maple seems to be a bit sick The leaves seem to be dying and curling up instead of going their nice autumnul colour, would it be beneficial if I were to remove the dying leaves now (as its almost winter here in Canberra anyway) or just leave them on. Also would it be worth giving it some power feed or seasol? I don't want to stress the little guy out unnecessarily! Any help is much appreciated!

Sean

[lennard]

Here in RSA we have the same : the one day the leaves are green and the next day they curl up and dry out.

If they are dry you may remove them - if still any green, leave them.

Lennard

[shibui]

It probably will not make any difference to the tree if you leave the leaves or remove them. Personally I'd leave them on so if the tree is able it might be able to use the last traces of green to do a little photosynthesis and store a little more energy for the winter. If the tree is still alive they will fall off naturally. if it is not alive then it will not make any difference anyway will it?
I would not feed now. If the leaves are all as bad as you imply the tree will not be able to use any fertiliser so a. it will be wasted and, worse, b. excess fertiliser can cause more problems than you've already got.
Do you know what caused the problem? Dry?- make sure it is properly rehydrated (soak rootball in a tub for mabe 30 min then let it drain then keep an eye on it so it doesn't happen again. Fertiliser burn? Herbicide? Sunburn? (unlikely this year).

Just cross your fingers and remember that all good bonsai growers have lost trees.

[Andrew Legg]

Same problem in Cape Town, South Africa. Side of the tree that gets the morning sun is dry and shrivveled and the other side is green and happy.

[Sean M]

Thanks for the advice guys,

Buggered if I know all my other plants seem to be OK. I'll just wait and see....

[deepeetee]

Is it just one tree that seems to have the issue?
I noticed on one of mine that the leaves had started to shrivel up, on closer inspection i found a family of grubs enjoying a sunday family meal together
Does the surface of the dirt look disturbed? Just a thought
Dave

[Sean M]

@dave

Nope, no disturbance in the soil. there's no bugs or disease that I can see. perhaps its just having a sook. I will go and play it some soothing music and see if that helps!

[Guy]

usually a water problem----take it out of the pot and see if its too moist

[Andrew Legg]

I'm going to go out on a limb here guys. I have no proof and no scientific basis to say this, but I have been thinking (a dangerous thing in itself) and have wondered if these issues with drying maple leaves could not be attributed to solar activity. Humour me here. Read this:

As 2010 approaches, more and more scientists around the world will be tuning their telescopes
towards the sun to try and detect sudden eruption of highly destructive solar flares which have the
ability to cause a "telecommunication blackout" across the globe.

"The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010," said Markus
Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin
Advanced Technology Center (LMATC) in the United States of America.

Right, now we all know that maples are prone to sun damage and that prolonged exposure to mid-day sun can be damaging to the leaves, causing leaf burn. My maples have all been fried and all look pretty terrible, I am pretty sure they are not overwatered or laden with bugs, but they do get a good dose of sun (I've been trying to keep my internodes short ). I have also noticed that a lot of my bonsai colleagues seem to have a similar problem and one nursery owner here in Cape Town has gon so far as to send her trees' leaves in for scientific testing which releaved no bugs or disease. She is a very experienced grower, so I am sure her trees are watered correctly.

So there you have it. I'm gonna blame it on Solar Flares causing excessive UV damage. Now you can choose whether you or whether you are or whether you want to at me, but I am gonna stick with my theory for now!

[Paulneill]

There was another post on this site very similar to this problem . Everyone was saying it was a fungal disease . Of which the treatment is Yates anti rot . Spray on the leaves and plant takes it In . I have the same problem . 80 percent of leaves are red brown dry and crispy I havent tried this stuff yet . Ps my tree only gets 2 hours direct sun in the morning I'm in Sydney

[Andrew Legg]

There was another post on this site very similar to this problem . Everyone was saying it was a fungal disease . Of which the treatment is Yates anti rot . Spray on the leaves and plant takes it In . I have the same problem . 80 percent of leaves are red brown dry and crispy I havent tried this stuff yet . Ps my tree only gets 2 hours direct sun in the morning I'm in Sydney

Fungal disease caused by solar flares!

[GerhardGerber]

Hi Andrew

I'm in Namibia and I think it's common knowledge we're a little closer to Hell than most of SA.

I've resisted buying maples since the nurseries started stocking them. No good varieties of Japanese maple (under shade cloth), but one nursery has excellent tridents.....as far as the trunks are concerned.....the rest of the plant is what stops me dead in my tracks.
I have to assume they are imported from SA, but they take a beating in our sun and look really crappy.

I recently looked at one trident in a garden, the owner complained that the tree wasn't growing well, and about half of each leave was dead and dry.
I saw two more in a doc's practice (converted house) that looked healthy and they were in a courtyard, I suspect big trees nearby also shade then for a good part of the day.

I think you only need look at the difference in skintone and clarity between local caucasions and European tourists to fully appreciate how much more sun we get.

The sun did a number on all my trees, including the Acacia(!!!!!!!), just before this unending rainy season started - I think your theory is very close to correct if not spot-on.

Cheers
Gerhard

[Andrew Legg]

Hi Gerhard,

It certainly is only a theory, but Gail from Bishopsford has also been struggling and sent her trees' leaves in for analysis. They could find no gremlins, so that's what got me thinking. I also know my grass and one fully grown tree in my garden have all taken a beating this year. I think I am gonna have to do a bit of on this one.

Cheers, and If you ever are in Cape Town, look me up via Ausbonsai (how crazy does that sound!!!).

Andrew

[MattA]

Fungal disease caused by solar flares!

How bout wind?? We all know how drying it can be!

From what little I have seen of sun scorch on maples, it will usually affect the middle of the leaf the most (or the parts closest to the direction of the sun) causing bleaching in mild cases up to a full burn which will kill the veins & whole leaf.

With wind damage it is the edges that are affected first & foremost, it can also happen at any time of year (summer or not). The soil will remain moist but the tree is simply unable to carry water to the leaves fast enough to keep pace with what the wind sucks out of them. The natural survival process employed by all life (even our own bodies) is to withdraw from the extremities to maintain the core.. in this case the edges of leaves are left to dry out while the parts closest to the veins are kept alive.... My theory & sticking to it ( a few maples coped a dose of experimenting this past summer)

[lennard]

Jut went outside to see how may Trident Maples are coping with the change of season and mine is still green but not putting out new growth. I have to add that with the sun shifting my Tridents are in the dappled sunlight under big Jacarandas from February and they are receiving no full sunlight.

Trident Maples here are planted as pavement trees and they seem to cope with the change in season very well - they change color as they are suppose to do.

Japanese Maples here must be kept in dappled shade the whole year long.

Lennard