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Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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Posted by csherman Central OH (My Page) on Fri, Jul 4, 08 at 2:47
| About 5 years ago, I planted a Japanese Maple, I believe its a Bloodgood, by the window in front of my condo. Its located in a narrow patch between the building and the sidewalk on the north side of the building so it receives little sun. For the first 3 years the tree grew fine without problems. Then last year and now this year, most of the leaves are starting to turn brown. Its very odd, the new growth seems fine but eventually the leaf edges begin to dry and turn brown. The brown moves into the center of the leaf but does not entirely encompass the leaf and it remains attached to the tree.
My condo was built on landfill back in 1978 and the soil is very heavy with clay. This area also has a great deal of limestone but I don't think that's the problem. When I planted the tree, I dug up much of the clay soil and replaced it with topsoil mixed with Miracle Grow's Organic Soil
Last Spring, I added organic fertilizer to the soil close to the tree and I thought, possibly, I overfertilized and burned the leaves. But this year I didn't fertilize and the same thing is happening. I wondered if as the tree grows and the roots dig deeper, they are reaching the heavy clay which doesn't allow for much drainage? A neighbor has a similar tree on the southern side of the building and its doing fine but the soil over there may have less clay content.
I'll try to post a picture but I haven't ever done that before so it may be a problem.
Any help is appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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Here's a picture, I hope:
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RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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Hmmmmm.... is it windy in that area? How much water are you giving it and how often? A few possibilities come to mind:
1) windburn
2) over or under watering
3) Chlorosis (a shortage of iron) Could be any of these three... I have not had any of my trees experience chlorosis, but you may want to google that and a simple addition of iron would help...
Tom |
RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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| It's dry. To know for certain, stick a trowel in the ground and see how deep it's moist. |
RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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| Thank you both for your replies. It's not dry and its not overwater either. Its also not windburn. As you can see, I'm fairly dumbfounded as I've covered the basics. The shortage of iron though might just be the problem. I've not heard of Chlorosis before and was hoping just for such a suggestion from someone more knowledgeable than me. I've tested the pH of the soil and it came back normal, same with fertilizer but other than those tests, I just didn't know what to do, short of moving the tree to another location. I'll Google for Chlorosis as Tom suggests and see what I find out. I'll post back with results. If anyone else has suggestions, I'm certainly still open to them. Cathy |
RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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| Cathy, Did you find a solution to your problem with your Bloodgood Maple. I have the same problem and I am dumbfounded as well. Thank you, Scott |
RE: Bloodgood Leaves browning on edges
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| The leaves are burned......likely from reflected heat bouncing back from the sidewalk and off the side of the building. Even on the north side of a structure, out of what is considered direct sun (except in midsummer, unless there is an overhang), a great deal of heat can build up on concrete or masonry surfaces. And the foliage of JM's is pretty delicate - it will desiccate easily in too much wind, heat or sun. Adequate watering can often offset this issue until the tree gets established and has a well developed root system, but because of the very restricted growing situation this one is planted in, it is doubtful it will survive long enough to outgrow it. In addition to a very restricted planting area, this tree is far too close to the structure, looking to be only inches away.'Bloodgood' is considered one of the larger (and faster) growing selections of Japanese maple and will eventually reach 25' tall and as wide......if given sufficient room to do so. I'd also be concerned about leaching from the condo foundation and the sidewalk - concrete will leach lime for decades and can create alkaline soil conditions. The maple, which prefers acidic soil, may be reacting to this as well. The problem is heat, lack of water and an overall inhospitable growing condition. FWIW, chlorosis does not result in a drying or browning of leaf edges, but rather a bleaching or fading of color from the entire leaf tissue except the veins. |
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