About 10 days ago I bought an Acer palmatum var. dissectum Crimson Queen.
I'm not sure how old it is but it was about 4 feet tall and gorgeously red.
When I was planting it I used some root grower and then watered throroughly.
About 2 days later I noticed that the leaves on the top were not only losing
their brightness but turning brown to grey. Since then it's seemed to get
worse.

I know these are supposed to get partial sun to shade, preferably afternoon
shade. The best I can do is shade almost all morning long, until about
noon. I'm in Alabama where it is normally rather hot but in the past 2
weeks it hasn't been too bad, 80 max. A couple of days ago it rained a lot
here, pretty heavily, and a lot of the leaves ended up just falling off
totally.

Yesterday I started misting it before I went to work in the morning, I'll
try doing it every day before work - I've read this can help. But I really
want to know if there's anything else I can do, if it's likely it won't make
it, or if it should come back next year after it gets its roots set in
deeper. I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks,
Ryan

"Ryan Carmichael" wrote in message
...
About 10 days ago I bought an Acer palmatum var. dissectum Crimson Queen.
I'm not sure how old it is but it was about 4 feet tall and gorgeously
red.
When I was planting it I used some root grower and then watered
throroughly.
About 2 days later I noticed that the leaves on the top were not only
losing
their brightness but turning brown to grey. Since then it's seemed to get
worse.

I know these are supposed to get partial sun to shade, preferably
afternoon
shade. The best I can do is shade almost all morning long, until about
noon. I'm in Alabama where it is normally rather hot but in the past 2
weeks it hasn't been too bad, 80 max. A couple of days ago it rained a
lot
here, pretty heavily, and a lot of the leaves ended up just falling off
totally.

Yesterday I started misting it before I went to work in the morning, I'll
try doing it every day before work - I've read this can help. But I
really
want to know if there's anything else I can do, if it's likely it won't
make
it, or if it should come back next year after it gets its roots set in
deeper. I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks,
Ryan

There could be a number of reasons why your tree is acting in this manner.
Transplant shock is likely the culprit - did you disturb the root ball at
all when planting? Another concern given your location would be soil
conditions. I know parts of the south can have some pretty heavy soils and
rich, loose soil with exceptional drainage is a fundamental requirement to
growing Japanese maples. Heavy soils combined with too much watering can be
the kiss of death. And, if the tree was grown in the nursery in more
sheltered (i.e. shady) conditions, change of light conditions can also
account for the leaf discoloration and drying.

At this time of year, misting or spraying the foliage is not going to help -
the tree is preparing to shed its leaves anyway, the recent planting has
just hastened that process. And whatever you do, DO NOT spray the foliage
next season to avoid sunburn, scorch, etc. - you will only exacerbate the
situation. Japanese maples have extremely delicate foliage, resent foliar
spraying of fertilizers and pesticides and misting the foliage intensifies
the sun's rays and increases scorching.

pam - gardengal

It's also possible that the plant was grown further north and is already
going into dormancy - this is the time of year that japanese maples are
losing their leaves in the north - in fact, past time in some places.
"Pam - gardengal" wrote in message
news:_mQnb.55372$Fm2.33988@attbi_s04...

"Ryan Carmichael" wrote in message
...
About 10 days ago I bought an Acer palmatum var. dissectum Crimson
Queen.
I'm not sure how old it is but it was about 4 feet tall and gorgeously
red.
When I was planting it I used some root grower and then watered
throroughly.
About 2 days later I noticed that the leaves on the top were not only
losing
their brightness but turning brown to grey. Since then it's seemed to
get
worse.

I know these are supposed to get partial sun to shade, preferably
afternoon
shade. The best I can do is shade almost all morning long, until about
noon. I'm in Alabama where it is normally rather hot but in the past 2
weeks it hasn't been too bad, 80 max. A couple of days ago it rained a
lot
here, pretty heavily, and a lot of the leaves ended up just falling off
totally.

Yesterday I started misting it before I went to work in the morning,
I'll
try doing it every day before work - I've read this can help. But I
really
want to know if there's anything else I can do, if it's likely it won't
make
it, or if it should come back next year after it gets its roots set in
deeper. I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks,
Ryan

There could be a number of reasons why your tree is acting in this manner.
Transplant shock is likely the culprit - did you disturb the root ball at
all when planting? Another concern given your location would be soil
conditions. I know parts of the south can have some pretty heavy soils and
rich, loose soil with exceptional drainage is a fundamental requirement to
growing Japanese maples. Heavy soils combined with too much watering can
be
the kiss of death. And, if the tree was grown in the nursery in more
sheltered (i.e. shady) conditions, change of light conditions can also
account for the leaf discoloration and drying.

At this time of year, misting or spraying the foliage is not going to
help -
the tree is preparing to shed its leaves anyway, the recent planting has
just hastened that process. And whatever you do, DO NOT spray the foliage
next season to avoid sunburn, scorch, etc. - you will only exacerbate the
situation. Japanese maples have extremely delicate foliage, resent foliar
spraying of fertilizers and pesticides and misting the foliage intensifies
the sun's rays and increases scorching.

pam - gardengal