when i first bought this tree (that was 2 years ago), i fell in love with its foliage. now, the tree looks stunted, and unhealthy because ants used to bred on it - gigantic ants that can run so fast. will this tree recover fully? should i give it more fertiliser? your help is greatly appreciated. 00ps...posted in the wrong section - should be under "maple" not maple gallery.
today, i transfer my tree from a large pot into a medium size pot. i read from somewhere that you can cut out the roots out during winter months... is that correct? the large pot looked ugly, so i have to trimmed out some of the roots from this tree....is that the correct way to transplant?
If you have not yet trimmed the roots on this specimen, I would wait. It is not clear, at least to me, from this photograph what the damage is that you are referring to. Can you post some more descriptive photographs? Also I read that there are over 1000 species of ants in Australia; have you caught one of them so that it can be identified by a local extension office? What exactly are they doing to this specimen?
If it is in full sun, place it in light shade, Japanese maples will burn otherwise. But don't water until half the soil is dry and be sure the soil is fast draining and not holding water at the roots for too long. Don't use peat in the mix, but sandy, gritty stuff.
question: am i allow to cut/trim out the roots during dormancy... will that cause any injury to the tree. i've actually trimed some of it off so that it could fit in a smaller pot. hope trimming the roots won't kill the tree...
The picture of your maple was taken indoors. Do you keep the tree outside? Japanese Maples don't like to be kept as house plants. Dale B.
Hello Jumbo! It's hard for northerners like me to speak with much confidence about a tree growing in Australia. But let me make a few stabs at it. 1. Up here (I'm in New York), I've never seen direct damage tree from ants. The ants do, however, tend and protect scale insects and aphids, which can do damage if there are lots of them. I usually see aphids in the spring; as soon as the ladybugs start eating them in summer, though, they pretty much disappear. I have, however, had plants in poor health because there was an ant nest in the pot, which affects drainage and who knows what else. In these cases I usually wash all the soil off, put in fresh soil, and move the pot. 2. I agree with Laurie that this isn't the best time to repot the plant. Early spring, just as the buds are swelling, is best. (Of course, we have full dormancy up here--your roots might keep growing all year down there.) At that time you can trim the roots fairly severely and they'll come right back. But if the plant is unhealthy, it's more risky. In my experience, sometimes it seems to rejuvenate an unhealthy plant, but I've killed a few, too. 3. Are there any dark streaks on the bark, especially on the branches with dead leaves? If so, you might have some sort of vascular fungus. Up here, they can be hard to control--I've been fighting such a problem on my Seiryu for quite a while. You should prune off any infected branches--the ailments can progress even when the tree is dormant. Some fungicides might help, but you'd have to have your specific problem diagnosed by an expert for recommendations. Sounds like you've already repotted the plant. At this point, if it were mine, I'd just leave it through the winter--you should be able to leave it outside in the pot (I assume you have good drainage--maples don't like to sit in the water) and see how it looks in the spring--whether the branches are all healthy. Hope this is helpful--let us know what happens.
