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tjchermack

Diagnosis Help: The Dreaded V. Wilt?

tjchermack
15 years ago

Hi-- I'm hoping this is not what I think it may be, but could really use some expert help in diagnosis. First the facts:

-- I live in Fort Collins, CO, and there are not many people adventurous enough to plant Japanese Maples here, so everything I'm doing is a little bit of an experiment.

-- I purchased a beautiful Seiryu a few weeks ago from a reputable nursery for a good price. I do not believe they would sell me a diseased tree, but considering point 1 above... My guess is that it is approximately 4 years old.

-- It seems a good bet that the tree was not babied at the nursery like most of us will baby our trees, as there were lots of dead twigs, etc.. that I pruned out when I got it home, but nothing out of the ordinary

-- I have noticed the occasional dead leaf, but it seems to generally, overall be doing very well. It is very lush, lots of green, etc..

-- Upon closer inspection I've notice the things in the photos linked here:

http://gallery.me.com/tjchermack#100071

-- The tree has now been in the ground about two weeks. I also need to tell you that some branches were cut off at the nursery and they told me it was dieback from last winter.

-- Finally, I watered it heavily when I planted it (we have clay soil, so I followed all of the proper soil amending instructions, etc.., and I have a few other Japanese Maples that do not show these things I am worried about) and we have oddly got a lot of rain recently.

I know the symptoms of overwatering can look like V. Wilt, but I'd really appreciate the perspective of a trained eye on this.

Thanks so much

Tom

Comments (7)

  • stompede
    15 years ago

    I don't see anything that would make me think Vert. wilt with out it being something else. The fact the plant is new, I would look at the actual planting or after care. Also, Jap maples can get several different fungi that live on the stems, and I've had maples under quite a bit of stress get diagnosed with 3 different diseases at once. The only way you can be 100% sure of disease is with a lab diagnosis and you can do this by going to the Extension Service.

  • Embothrium
    15 years ago

    Red flags here are the dead twigs, the cutting back at the nursery (unless they were taking scions from it for additional propagation) and the amending of a planting hole in clay soil. Established Japanese maples do often produce heavy outer foliage that actually appears to shade out the interior branches, resulting in dead twigs but there should not be many of these on a new small specimen. Details of how you modified your soil before planting would be needed to determine if you could have produced a problem situation but since you have expressed concern about the tree being too wet it sounds like you may have done that.

    Methods researcher and innovator Carl E. Whitcomb put a good brief discussion of soil modification for planting trees and shrubs in his Establishment and Maintenance of Landscape Plants book from 1987 (revised 1991). Don't know what the other thread was and if I put this up there.

    Use no soil amendments except in very specific conditions of raised or amended beds for plants with very limited root systems. If the existing soil is very poor, remove and replace with good field soil or place at least six inches of good field soil on the surface. However, you should match soil types as backfilling with a good sandy loam in a heavy clay will serve as a collection point for water and the roots will suffocate. Soil amendments in a small planting hole do not assist plant establishment and growth. It is better to use the amendments as a mulch. The only exception is where the entire plant root zone for many years can be amended...

    Here is a link that might be useful: Carl E. Whitcomb

  • Embothrium
    15 years ago

    I thought you referred to another thread where soil amending was discussed, reading your post again I guess not.

  • tjchermack
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks for your advice -- let me see if I can clarify -- this is a tough one.

    Soil -- I dug the hole roughly twice the size of the root ball. I planted the tree leaving the collar about 2 inches above the hole. I then mixed approximately 1/3 acidified compost (brand = cotton burr compost) with 2/3 of the original soil and backfilled.

    Water -- As I mentioned, I gave the tree a good watering and we've had a lot of rain over the past few days, and so I have not watered additionally. This was my concern that it may be waterlogged. It is usually quite dry here. However, I just checked by sticking my finger down into the soil. Things are moist, but doesn't seem excessively so (although I am new at this).

    Shape / Twigs -- The tree is about 6 feet tall with about a 5 foot spread. It is very bushy and lush. So, the dead twigs cut back at the nursery seemed logical and I cut out a few more when I got it home (I think it was somewhat neglected by any of our standards -- was probably pruned once per year if that at all...). Most of the twigs were internal so it made sense that some of the outer foliage shaded out some of the interior branches.

    Given all of this my own conclusions based on these forums and Vertrees would be one or a combination of the following:
    1) overwatering
    2) some amount of transplant shock
    3) some kind of disease

    I hope this clarifies, and please let me know if you have any other suggestions based on my information and photos. I will keep posting with progress.
    Thanks again,
    Tom

  • jean001
    15 years ago

    You said: "...we've had a lot of rain over the past few days, and so I have not watered additionally. "

    And that's likely the problem.

    Check the soil of the original rootball. Probably needs water. If so, drizzle a hose directly onto the rootball to supply water to the original roots.

    You also said "I just checked by sticking my finger down into the soil. Things are moist"

    Which soil? The soil of the rootball? (That area is likely dry.) Or the surrounding soil? (That area will remain moist for an extended time -- no roots there as yet.)

  • stompede
    15 years ago

    Also remember amended planting holes work two ways against the plant. When conditions are drier, water will be wicked away from the usually coarser amended soil to the finer native soil, creating a lack of moisture. If the maple was grown in a container, you get a double interface the plant has to deal with. When conditions are wet, the opposite happens. Water will sit in the amended hole while water drains much more slowly in the native soil, keeping plants too wet.

  • tjchermack
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks so much to all of you. These forums are so amazing. I just watered the root ball (it was a little dry indeed) and I will keep you posted. Again, thanks so much for your expertise.
    Tom

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