reefland
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Japanese Maple Help

New to the forum. We have a small Japanese maple tree which was bought and planted in September of 2006. It is about 3ft tall. When purcahsed, the tree was a bit bare, however it did have leaves on all of the branches.

This year, the buds on the tree started to form, then there were 4 days of hard frost (live near Louisville, KY). Since then, the entire tree has been bare on all branches, although most are alive I beleive (flexible, good color, etc.). Over the past few weeks we have gotten a lot of new growth near the bottom of the tree, under all of the previously established branches. This is good since we know the tree is not dead. However we are not sure if we should do anything with the rest of the tree and are therefore looking for advice. Should we cut these branches, let be, etc. Pictures below.

Also, any idea on the exact type of tree this is?

[img]https://www.reefland.com/images/tree1.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.reefland.com/images/tree2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://www.reefland.com/images/tree3.jpg[/img][/img]

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Jess
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Hi Reefland :D

It looks like Acer palmatum var. dissectum atropurpureum or Garnet.

At the base where the new growth is coming in the second picture looks like a dead branch. Cut that off. The top branches need to be nibbled down. Cut what looks dry and see if it is dead then cut a little bit further until you hit green wood. Your tree may try to sprout from there. If not keep cutting down as it dies back. It is under stress (obviously because of the frosts) and doing its best to rejuvenate itself. With you nibbling it down and it growing up from the bottom hopefully you should meet somewhere in the middle.
Be extra nice to it. Don't let it dry out and give it a good feed to help it on its way. Good luck!

Geek
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We had that late frost here as well. We talked to an "old timer" horticulturist and he told us to water them well, but don't fertilize it, and wait till June. We have a pecan tree that looked just like your tree with the bush at the bottom and nothing on top. Just last week it put out new leaves on the rest of it. Out of 15 grapevines all but 2 have come back following his recommendations about watering and waiting.

It is obvious your tree isn't dead so waiting a week or two more shouldn't hurt it.

reefland
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Thanks for your replies!

There are a few small branches that are obviously dead, so we will cut thost back to the trunk, or branch that they are attached to. As for the branches that appear alive (good brown coloration) your saying to np away at those until we see green inside of the branch? What if we don't see green, should we keep nibbling or only go so far? I have read that over pruning is not good either.

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Jess
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Geek wrote:We had that late frost here as well. We talked to an "old timer" horticulturist and he told us to water them well, but don't fertilize it, and wait till June.
It is obvious your tree isn't dead so waiting a week or two more shouldn't hurt it.
I wonder why he suggested no fertilizer? :roll:
The tree wants to leaf up again. It cannot do this without the correct nutrients. The only reason I can see for delaying feeding it is to stop it leafing up in case of more frosts. I am always open to new horticultural information though so if he has valid reasons for not doing this I would be interested to know what they are.

As for leaving any dead wood on a tree this leaves it open to fungal infections that could travel into live wood. Coral spot being one of them.
Check this link https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0900/coral_spot.asp

I doubt wether you will have to prune too drastically. A lot of it looks like it is still alive (green wood) The only reason to delay would be the likelihood of more frost.

reefland
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No fear of more frost this season for sure.

Ok, we will cut the dead branches off tonight and see what we can do with the others to get to green wood. As for the fertilizer/food, what do you suggest?

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Jess
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I would use blood, fish and bone to give it an all round boost, water after application and then a mulch preferably of home made compost remembering of course not to take it right up to the trunk.
Let me know how it does. I feel really responsible for it now! :shock:

happymarie
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Location: Wales

Hi
I am new to this forum and joined when I saw your Acer pictures.
I live in Wales in the UK and we have had quite a bad winter and it is still quite cold. My Japanese Maple looks like yours with very good lower growth but very little leaf and bud growth towards the top of the tree. The wood is dying back on the bare branches. My tree was planted 9 years ago and was at least 5 years old when planted, I love this tree dearly and would be very grateful if you could let me know how yours is dong now and whether it has recovered. I have never encountered this problem before, but last year we staked the tree and I am wondering whether some of the roots were damaged.

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applestar
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I'm by no means an expert, but I do have several Japanese maples that have managed to survive drought and frost for the past 15 years so here goes.

In my experience, the Japanese maple will let you know when the branches are dead. Bend it and if it's brittle and snaps, it's dead, but if it doesn't, then no matter how bare and awful it looks, there's some life left.

We had a drought when all their leaves curled up and dropped in the middle of the summer, but when we patiently nursed it back to health, new leaves grew in late summer, then turned and fell as usual, and, by next summer, they were back to being full -- they did lose several major branches entirely and one of them needed a pretty drastic haircut, but you wouldn't know it to look at it now, and it actually looks somewhat better (tidier) than his sibling which didn't get but back as severely.

I usually wait until spring when the new growth begins, then go around snapping dead branches off. I suspect that they could use a more professional pruning -- I'm debating on cutting the lower branches off because they sweep all the way to the ground. Some people give them "bob" cuts -- straight across at the bottom 6 inches above the ground... but I prefer the more "natural" look -- I just don't want them dragging on the ground.

By the way, if you are tempted to put holiday lights on them, don't. We lost one that way, and another new transplant from last year is looking much like yours after my husband succumbed to the kids urging him to decorate the "baby" tree. The oldsters are decorated every year into starry mounds every year without harm, but the younger ones can't seem to handle it. I suspect that the lights "warm" the branches, then when the lights are turned off, they are unable to cope with the freezing weather.

Oh, they are underplanted with periwinkles and interplanted with wild strawberries and tulips. I only intentionally fertilize the strawberries with compost.

Oh! Just now noticed that the OP was from LAST year. Oh well, hope your tree is feeling better. :D

imike24
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Thank for the advises.
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