My Acer is Threadbare.

I have a 4 ft Japanese Maple and it has thrived very well so far,but this year all I have is a few pathetic leaves at the base of the tree and just twigs everywhere else.Can I prune this woody mass or should I leave it and see what happens as there is no sign of new growth up the top.Help please.Thankyou.

 

Try s c r a ping the bark on a thick twig and see if it green underneath, if it is dry and brittle then I fear the worst. Sorry

[ 17. April 2007, 09:20 AM: Message edited by: Celia ]

 

Hi Krafty. Where is the tree kept, in the ground or a container?

 

Have you a pic? That would help enormously
Some of these trees are slower to leaf out. Yours may just be a little lazy this year
I would prune nothing until you are sure what is dead and what is alive. Some die back is normal with a Japanese Maple and can be snapped off
Whatever you do, be very careful not to damage any emerging buds
What is its history as regards siting, watering, fertiliser, pot/no pot etc

 

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Sorry about the upper html...gawd knows what happened there.You will notice that the branch with the leaves on is green..good sign??? :D

 

In my experience of these they will not tolerate bitterly cold draughts,the leaves go back & don't form properly.
Ideally best kept out of these conditions if at all possible.(maybe not the culprit in your case though).

 

Last winter was my acers first one. The same thing happened to mine and my neighbour was insistant that it doesnt like our lane as its too windy and to pull it up, but as it was a present i couldnt, so i just cut all the bare branches, or rather large twigs that didnt have any sign of life. So far this year i have a much healthier plant with no bare branches. I am not certain it will settle here, but there is certainly hope, so unless yours is in a spot where you defintately need something to be growing fast, i would hang in and see what happens.

 

Yes, in so far as I can tell, those branches look fairly dead to me
I would be inclined to do the same as Sharon suggests and cut off those that show no signs of life
A few years ago I had a Omurayama that had died right back, I cut off the dead wood and, lo and behold, it grew back
It is now 4 feet high and strengthening every year
So all may not be doom and gloom
As to why this has happened ....
Is it too wet
Or too dry?
Or got a severe frost?
Or too much wind?
You might have to look carefully at the soil and where it is sited

 

Thankyou everyone for your input and I will cut down the dead wood and hope it gains some strength through this action.I think the area is too dry to be honest and it can get windy but it has shelter from a raised bed.I will do as you suggest and take it from there.Thanks all...you certainly know your stuff...shame I don't..lol.

 

Hi Krafty,
Here's a photo of mine. In a pot all it's life and I do nothing but water it. Suppose a feed is due?
John

 

Sob...mine was going like this and now it's so pathetic I think I will have to start again.Thanks for your answers and I am going back to bed because I am gutted.Lol...beautiful Acer John...can I have it???

 

John ... that is one stunning acer to be growing in a pot
Probably Bloodgood to be so vigorous (or a variety of it)

 

John,that is so beautiful.