repotted maple and now leaves wilted

dishinstallers

I bought a grafted maple about a year ago. I think it is about 10 years old since the graft. I did not repot is last year because I wanted to give it a chance to get used to the new environment.

About 1 week ago I decided to repot it. I cleaned all the old soil from the roots and repotted with a mixture of about 1/3 potting soil, 1/3 fir bark, and 1/3 sand. I did not do much root pruning and I used the same pot that it came in. I also decided I would repot this tree as a root over rock. Most of the roots are still under the soil. Just as far as they were before I repotted it.

When I watered it, I put some superthrive in the water. I only did that twice when I noticed that the leaves were all wilting. I have been watering as needed (it has been raining a few days since it was repotted) since then.

The leaves are not drying out, but I am not sure what to do with it at this point. I do have some vitamin b1 plant starter that I could give it, but I dont want to make it worse.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

__________________
Terri

Advertisement

jloeschner

The following advice is based on my experience planting landscape trees in my yard. The advice seems to match most bonsai information I have seen, as well...

Deciduous trees should be planted either in fall or in spring, while the tree is dormant. For bonsai, the common practice is potting, or repotting, in the spring, before the buds swell or break. Planting or repotting after bud break is risky, especially if there is any root work to do at all.

Having said that, I have gone against this advice from time to time, as well. Last year, I planted a chinese elm, several maples, and an oak tree while they were still in leaf. They have all survived so far, but they moped and drooped for several weeks after potting. I simply kept them out of direct sunlight and made sure they were also protected from any prevailing winds and were kept moist. They pulled through, and are now starting to break bud. The chinese elm is already in full leaf, and is doing wonderfully. So, if I were you, I would put the tree out of direct sunlight, but make sure that it still gets some filtered sun, keep it moist, but not dripping wet, and do not let the wind toss it around. Next time, I would repot it while it is dormant instead of while it is in leaf.

Regards,
John

__________________
Good judgement comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgement.

QUI ME AMAT, AMAT ET CANEM MEAM

rockm

The leaves may not be "wilting" if they're new. New maple leaves are a little limp, especially just after they open up from the leaf buds. As they"harden off" and mature, the "wilt" goes away. This can take several weeks.

Unless the leaves begin to get crispy on the edges, I wouldn't worry too much.