JAPANESE MAPLES - COLOUR AND DIEBACK

It's been a while since I last posted.  I'm not a winter gardener but now the garden is waking up with all this global warming glorious sunshine, so am I.  Anyway, it is officially spring.  Unofficially, it started in February when we had a whole week of fabulous sunny weather here on the Pennine Mountains of West Yorkshire, England.  We were spoilt with good weather, especially considering that we expect harshness, long spells of freezing temperatures and days of snow right through winter. Some plants are still just waking up but others are putting on a show.  The Japanese Maple, Acer palmatum 'Katsura' is looking lovely but Acer palmatum dissectum, the poor thing, my oldest Japanese Maple, is fighting against dieback, and I am fighting it too. 



Acer palmatum 'Katsura' March 2019

Japanese Maple dieback can be caused by more than one thing, apparently.  It can be a bacteria in the soil (some disease killed off my cherry tree some time ago), or it can be to do with the wrong situation, too heavy soil, too much water, etc.  This external link might help you decide, if you have the problem: https://japanesemaplelovers.com/japanese-maple-diseases/

Acer palmatum 'Katsura' - May

You can see how badly my Acer palmatum dissectum Ornatum was suffering (below), but I removed the dead shoots in January after taking the photo and it is now looking happier and breaking into bud.  Above, even Katsura seems to have a little dead wood showing; at least not in bud. 





I shall just keep removing dieback but I don't advocate cutting back into live wood, particularly once the plants start 'waking up' in spring, when the sap starts to rise.  In my view, that only invites insect infestation (believe me, I found out the hard way!).  If Ornatum doesn't improve radically, I shall probably uproot it and put it in a pot.  However, the reason I planted it in the border was because the dratted vine weevil insect killed off one Japanese Acer in a pot.  Who said a gardener's life is easy?  Nobody did.

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Ornatum' dieback January 2019

Acer palmatum dissectum 'Ornatum', hostas and ferns.

So far, Japanese acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' is looking healthy planted at the top of my garden, but is taking it's time waking up; buds are forming though.  The same applies to Japanese palmatum Phoenix. 



Japanese acer shirasawanum 'Jordan' July 2018

Acer palmatum 'Phoenix' July 2018