How do I tell if my Japanese Maple is alive?

Question

Our Japanese Maple looked beautiful this Spring, now all the leaves are gone but the branches are not brittle.The leaves just dried up.  The sprinkler hit the tree on the trunk, which we have since adjusted.  There is no sign of any new growth.  It has been 2-3 weeks.  Should I replace it or wait?

Answer 1

scratch the bark about half way down. just scratch off the dry outer part. if the cambium layer is green its still alive.look for borer holes at the base,crotches, etc. if they have girdled the tree you will see where the bark is peeling off. if its a new tree it could be summer heat and its roots werent developed well enough. give it time to recover,and if it doesnt be sure you get a new one that has a big enough root ball and plant it in the early spring(like march,april in the north, after the ground has thawed.

Comments

Any place that you remove the bark, you have to spray with spectracide tree spray.  They are slow growers.  We had 2 late frosts in May, that effected those trees.