CT wrote:
I was given an Acer Palmatum 'Garnet' a week ago, but it has some leaf
scorch[1]. Over the week it seems to be getting a little worse. I
suspect it's just not had enough water lately, and I've been addressing
that. It's currently still in the pot that it came in, but I am
imminently going to repot it into something bigger containing a mixture
of John Innes No. 2[2] and some gravel.

Anyway, what should I do with it in the current situation? Googling
for information on leaf scorch returns lots of info on what it is and
why it occurs but not much (as far as I can see) on what should be done
about it after the fact.

Can I assume from this that the best course of action is to leave it
and wait for next spring? Should I do any pruning? There's at least
one branch that has 100% dead leaves, so I was tempted to remove just
that one.

I am going on holiday for two weeks so it's not going to get watered
for that time, although what with the weather being what it is I'm
hoping that this won't be an issue.

[1] I've only just discovered what this is from googling. I'm no
export garderner as you can probably tell.
[2] It might be JI No 3 - I can't quite remember but whatever it is, it
is what the nice person at the garden centre recommended.


Hello CT,

Congratulations, 'Garnet' is a nice plant. You should be aware that it
is vigorous and if you want to keep it in a pot it will be happiest with
occasional (every 2-3 years) root pruning. In the ground it will attain
13 ft in a cascading mound. It supports sun well.

Some leaf scorch is not unusual at this time of year, no action is
needed. Be careful not to over water, maples reduce their needs at
fall. Make sure the water is draining freely from the bottom of the
pot, if it's not that could add to the scorched appearance.

Normally don't prune, unless the shape really displeases you. If the
branch is dead, a scratch in the bark will be brown, not green. In this
case you can cut it down to living bark.

Don't repot until the plant has gone dormant. John Innes Ericaceous
compost is fine so long as it is very free draining. Most maple
people add grit, perlite, or pine chips to increase drainage. (Some
cat litter does very well for this purpose also, I believe the
Tesco Premium Cat Litter brand is highly recommended at about
30% volume).

-E