Trident maple sick???

saru

Hey guys,
Was wondering if some one could give me a hand here. My trident maples leafs are curling up and I'm not sure why. A very small amount of them have some black on the ends, can be seen in the picture. No Fert yet. was in full sun but was moved once I noticed that the leafs were not opening properly. I apreciate any and all help, thanks.

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Glider

That's really odd. Looking closely, those leaves don't have the dull, flaccid look of 'sickness' that would suggest a major systemic problem (e.g. root rot or some other sap interrupting problem that would make the whole tree sick). Apart from the curl, they all look quite glossy and turgid and are a good colour. The leaf axils are all turgid too, all holding the leaves up well and not curling down.

The only times I have seen leaves curl like that are when the undersides are either infected with powdery mildew (it's a bit early for that yet) or under severe insect attack (loaded with aphid). I can't see any overt signs of either.

The tree looks like it's still pushing out new growth too, so again, there doesn't appear to be any systemic problem with the tree.

There doesn't seem to be any sign of 'sickness' or infection, so if it were mine, I would put it in a sheltered spot with good light and wait a little while to see what the next set of leaves do.

The first set may have curled simply due to some anomaly in the conditions when they were opening, e.g. a particularly cold night or two, a temporary drying out due to some particularly drying winds (we've been having problems with that recently, high winds but very low relative humidity which can dry out tender new growth very quickly), or a bit too much sun? (I don't know how strong the sun is there in March). Was it repotted this year?

In any event, it's impossible to treat the tree for anything in particular until that thing is identified (which somebody else might be able to do), so until then, a good dose of TLC and close observation would be in order and might well be all that's needed.

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saru

Good advise, I'm going to just give it some TLC and see what happens. No I didn't repot it this year, I should have but I didn't get to this one in time. Yeah no signs of bugs or fungus or anyother pest. Leafs are very glossy and growth is amazing, just not good looking. I'll just take your advise and keep a close loving eye on this one.
Thanks again.

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Glider

One of the benefits of deciduous trees is, if there is any ugly foliage growth, you don't have to put up with it for more than a season (at most). Around late May you could trim off all the warped first flush leaves anyway. That'll get rid of the ugliness and open up the inside to light and air.

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saru

Yeah, that is true. Just have to see what she looks like in May.

Thanks again,

Sal

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mike108

Make sure your not watering the leaves in the hot mid day sun or even when their are harsh or dry winds. If so just water the soil. If you must water the foliage do so in the afternoon hours of the day around 5 oclock when the sun isnt harsh on the foliage and can burn the leaves if water is present.

Mike

Dblthefist

it looks like you have a frost bite on ya tree dose it get cold at night ? im only new to bonsai but that would be my guess is a bit of frost bite = / hope i was some help
Dean

watchndsky

i would second that as a possibility - had same thing happen due to a combination of laziness and a severe late freeze last year.

what has your weather been like?

saru

Sorry I forgot about this thread. So I took the Tree into Ted and he said its just overwatered. Sure enuff cut back on my watering and the tree has perked right up. Thanks guys and sorry for not checking up on this post.

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