My young Japanese maple tree that I transplanted from my backyard to the front, has leaves that are already turning red. Should I be concerned? What might it need? I did note that some of the leaves had tiny white or beige spots on them before. The red leaves appeared about 3 weeks ago. In my area, trees don't turn fallish colors until around October.
This tree in in the front yard towards the back near a fence. It has a layer of loose soil in which it was planted, and has a layer of mulch around it but not touching the trunk. I hear they do not like to be planted in to deeply. I believe I planted it in about 6 inches deep (the root ball).
Help?

A photo always helps. I'm trying to figure out what the 6" deep reference is- is that how deep you dug the hole? If so, that's not very deep for a tree. The goal though, is to keep the same soil/trunk level the same as how it came to you. Could you please describe in more detail about the hole and whether the root ball was broken when dug up?

When did you transplant it? I agree with Alyssa Blue that clarification of the root ball being 6" deep would help.

sooby said:When did you transplant it? I agree with Alyssa Blue that clarification of the root ball being 6" deep would help.

Here is a picture.
When I transported it to the front yard in early spring (April) I was careful to keep the rootball intact. The hole I dug was about 6-8 inches deep (am thinking more on the 8 inch side) and about 12 inches wide. I did place the earth it came from into the hole along with some other soil ftom a package. Hope this gives a clearer picture. So am I right in thinking fall foliage now is too early? I live in NJ, central.










I included pictures of a close up tbe leaves having spots. What can those be? Could it be there is root rot, and showing up on the leaves? Or might this be a fungus?

Don't worry about the spots and tears - that's just a sign that its getting late in the season. Damaged leaves are normal this time of year.

The bigger problem is what kind of a Japanese Maple do you have? The red leaves aren't early fall color, they are red leaves. There is a third type of leaves at the bottom of the tree - I suspect they are from the root stock.

You may have a red colored maple that is reverting to green.

DaisyI said:Don't worry about the spots and tears - that's just a sign that its getting late in the season. Damaged leaves are normal this time of year.

The bigger problem is what kind of a Japanese Maple do you have? The red leaves aren't early fall color, they are red leaves. There is a third type of leaves at the bottom of the tree - I suspect they are from the root stock.

You may have a red colored maple that is reverting to green.

Well, when I transplanted the tree it was early spring and all the leaves were closed like buds. In around late April they began opening, and the entire tree leaves were green with a reddish tint on the edges. So I dont think its reverting to green. Could it be reverting then to red now? Why do trees do this? Soil conditions?

Some Japanese Maple varieties are not very stable. To keep them the right color, you have to cut out the other color. For instance, this Japanese Maple is supposed to be variegated but its a constant struggle to keep it that way.



The holes are from Cutter Bees.

Your tree was probably originally red. Did you care for this tree in previous years? Or is it new to you? You can leave it two-toned or try to switch it to green or red (if you do nothing, the green will win). But, cut out all the branches below the graft or the graft root stock will be all you have.

DaisyI said:Some Japanese Maple varieties are not very stable. To keep them the right color, you have to cut out the other color. For instance, this Japanese Maple is supposed to be variegated but its a constant struggle to keep it that way.



The holes are from Cutter Bees.

Your tree was probably originally red. Did you care for this tree in previous years? Or is it new to you? You can leave it two-toned or try to switch it to green or red (if you do nothing, the green will win). But, cut out all the branches below the graft or the graft root stock will be all you have.

I uprooted th tree from my backyard. It was growing under some azalea bushes and I managed to dig it out carefully around the roots. It was all green at first. I have not treated it with anything, including fertilizer.
I don't know what you mean by graft or graft root stck. The tree is about 3 ft tall.

If you look carefully at the trunk, just above ground level (hopefully), you will see a bulge where the desired tree was grafted to a different root stock. Usually the root stock is more vigorous or more disease resistant than the better looking tree. If you see suckers coming from the roots, you need to rip them off before they take over. That graft needs to stay above ground.

Hi Amy,

I think we are confusing you. Was the maple tree planted by someone? Or did it come up from seed under your azalea bushes? If you just moved to this house, maybe the previous owner planted it? If you have lived here forever, maybe it came from seed? (answer these questions)

Take a couple photos of the very bottom of the tree trunk from soil level to about a foot up from a couple different directions. Maybe we can see the graft.

DaisyI said:Hi Amy,

I think we are confusing you. Was the maple tree planted by someone? Or did it come up from seed under your azalea bushes? If you just moved to this house, maybe the previous owner planted it? If you have lived here forever, maybe it came from seed? (answer these questions)

Take a couple photos of the very bottom of the tree trunk from soil level to about a foot up from a couple different directions. Maybe we can see the graft.

I see what you mean now. The seed came from a neighboring tree in my neighborhood, so it was a tree that was already growing. I have many different young trees growing under larger bushes unfortunately, like oaks, Japanese Maples, and some I don't know the name for. As I said, I found it under azalea bushes in my backyard, and I thought to bring it out to the front. I will take a picture of the graft so you can see it in a bit. Thanks for the clarification.

Amy, there will not be a graft if it was a seedling from another tree, I think that's why Daisy asked that question.

Are there green and red leaves on the same branches or are they separate?

Just popping in the say I love the two-tone effect. Very lovely.

😀😀😀

Mindi

Zencat said:Just popping in the say I love the two-tone effect. Very lovely.

Really? Thank you. I just thought it was dying actually, because that's what happens to trees here in the fall. It began doing this a few weeks ago (maybe a month to 6 weeks ago), and I thought that this is not going to last. '
Should I add fertizlier now to this tree? It is cooler. Or shall I wait for the fall?

I am trying to work out, in my tiny mind, how this tree could exist without being grafted. Looking back at the original photos, it really looks like three distintly different leaf types on one tree: green palmatum, red palmatum and a third, smaller leaf at the very bottom.

I would still like to see closer photos of the trunk from different angles.

I have a fair number of Japanese maples, and there is often three distinct colors to the leaves - early spring, summer, and fall.

This tree has two leaf shapes and two colors, not on the same leaves. Sooby had a good question: Are the colors on their own branches?

I have read that it is possible for genetic material to cross a graft (I have no scientific proof and would assume the tree was a sport) but, if you are certain this is not a grafted tree and instead a seedling, I am going to think in a different direction for awhile.... The newest red foliage and the older green foliage don't appear to be on the same branches and there is no sign that the red was ever green. Bringing me to a new thought - You could have a very unique seedling, a Chimera.

A chimera is a plant (or other organism) that has two sets of DNA. The most common chimera in a plant is one with variegated leaves: The two sets of DNA bump up against each other in one leaf. But another form has different colored foliage or flowers on different branches of one plant. The only one I can think of right now is Toyo Nishiki Quince.

The only way to tell (other than DNA testing) is to give it a couple years and see what develops. If its truly a chimera, it will continue to produce both red leafed branches and green leafed branches. If it was environmental, the tree will be whatever it should be when it leafs out next spring.

Please keep us posted on what happens and with new photos (on this thread).

OK, here are the pictures. I saw that the leaves are in fact mixed on some branches. Here are some closeups so you can see. And, some red leaves are beginning to curl. Maybe it was getting overheated in the last few days where we had a heatwave, not sure. PS there are 2 more on next page, and the base of the trunk is shown. I had just watered the ground.