Bought this house 8 months ago, never had to care for trees. It has been a hot and dry summer here in indiana. This japanese maple is not looking good, is this from heat/draught stress ? Any insight would be very appreciated đ
I’d pull the mulch away from the trunk”s root flare for one..
I’d periodically give it a good watering now until cool weather and regular rains return.
Also at some point I’d trim that taller lead on the right. Japanese maples are prone to co-dominant stems and sometimes included bark resulting in them eventually splitting in ice storms or wind.
Keeping them at a somewhat lower height and more compact in shape/size will tend to reduce load on the tree’s structure. Do not harshly “top” the tree, just strategically prune a little here and there annually to encourage a much slower overall increase in size.
RatioPuzzleheaded103
Let it do it’s thing. It should be fine. Trim in the winter if you think you need to. Should flush out just fine in the spring. If you think you need to trim now to see.what you are doing, go ahead. Obviously the tree needs water, so water at least once a week.
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I’d pull the mulch away from the trunk”s root flare for one..
I’d periodically give it a good watering now until cool weather and regular rains return.
Also at some point I’d trim that taller lead on the right. Japanese maples are prone to co-dominant stems and sometimes included bark resulting in them eventually splitting in ice storms or wind.
Keeping them at a somewhat lower height and more compact in shape/size will tend to reduce load on the tree’s structure. Do not harshly “top” the tree, just strategically prune a little here and there annually to encourage a much slower overall increase in size.
Let it do it’s thing. It should be fine. Trim in the winter if you think you need to. Should flush out just fine in the spring. If you think you need to trim now to see.what you are doing, go ahead. Obviously the tree needs water, so water at least once a week.
This is an insightful video https://youtu.be/fI12XNNqldA