Hello
I recently planted a emperor 1 Japanese Maple(10 days ago) and it appears to be either getting too much sun or too much water or both. In the mornings it doesn't get much sun but 1pm til 5 or so full sun. This might be too much for a new young plant?
Should I just leave it be and see what happens or do you all think I might do better moving it into more shade, which I have. I have 2 pics attached. One showing the location and one the leaves

Are you sure it is too much water rather than not enough? It was probably getting full sun at the garden centre so I don't think that would be the problem. Did you water it well in the pot before you planted it?

Yes. I also got new sod and some privacy shrubs so I've been watering my entire yard every day. It's still wet. Another thing is that I've been letting the sprinkler wet it which I read can burn the leaves. I won't do that again. But I think it gets a lot of water. I check the roots and the mulch. And it rained for 2 days straight over the weekend.
I know it says sun tolerant for the emperor 1. Maybe I should leave it where it is and check my watering and not spraying it w the sprinkler and see how it goes? But from what that know it takes a long time to produce new leaves so it migjt be hard to tell what the issue is

Sorry Sooby but I disagree about full sun in the nursery. Most around here have shade cloth protecting everything that may sunburn like Japanese maples.

pbDudley, were are you located? Western exposure means different things in different places. In Reno, I have Moon Maples on the west side of my house and they never get burned. But if you are in Arizona, that west sun may be a killer.

I think its a wait and see. If new leaves come out fine, you are good to go. In your photo, only some leaves are crispy while others on the same branch look fine. Figure out if the leaves that are still okay are also the leaves shaded by the crispy leaves in the hot afternoon sun.

If it was a water issue, the leaves would be uniformly crispy.

OK, thank you Daisyl
When I purchased the tree it was in a shade area. I do see a lot of Japanese maples on western sides in full sun though.
I am in New Orleans, Zone 9 I believe. I had new grass added to my yard and I've been leaving the sprinkler on for long periods and it splashes the maple. I read that you shouldn't water the leaves as this can cause burn. I'm hoping this is what occurred and Ill be more careful.
When I get home Ill check to see if the leaves that are not burnt are under or being protected by the burnt ones.
Now if it is burnt from the sun, how long until new growth forms? If the leaves keep burning after lets say a week perhaps? Then I could dig it up and relocate to a more shaded area under the oak tree in the attached pic. I was trying to get it to grow at the boarder of the shade/sun, but it does receive a lot of western afternoon sun, from approx 1 to 5pm. Thanks Im new to japanese maples. I like them, I even thought I could move the emperor 1 more under the shade of the tree and plant a green leafed jap maple in the current spot, but emperor 1 are supposedly sun tolerant
thanks for the help

Watering wet leaves does not cause leaf burn, except perhaps for some plants with hairy leaves, otherwise it is an idea that has been debunked. If it was the case plants would get leaves burned every time the sun came out after a shower. Here's an article about it:

https://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-co...

I have a Japanese maple in all day full sun here and it has never done what yours is doing although admittedly in a different climate. Yours is only in full sun for a maximum of four hours a day. Was it in deep shade where you bought it or part shade?

I would not stress it further by moving it again at this point but do check the distribution of the leaves, as Daisy suggested. Although ultimately all leaves will wilt due to a water issue, it will be the youngest ones that do it first. Also the above article gives some ideas about avoiding leaf burn.

Can you tell us how you planted it? Was the rootball intact? I assume it was in a pot?

Ok, I wont go by the watering of the leaves,

The tree was in a pot. I have a high clay content so I dug a big hole, double the size of the container, and its planted where the top of the pot is higher then my surrounding landscape, not by much but it is, and I have mulch but not covering any of the pot area as I read that this is better so the roots can breath. I potted it around 11 days ago now.

The roots were not running completely circular in the container, but some so I broke this up somewhat, but didnt damage it. Also, I added some root simulator, where now I read and its best not to add any fertilizer, well too late for that step
So I best bet is to just leave it as is now, even if I continue to see more leaf burn? Or if it continues to degrade perhaps re locate to a huge pot. It causes a lot of stress every time one disturbs the tree by digging up?

Ok, I wont go by the watering of the leaves,

The tree was in a pot. I have a high clay content so I dug a big hole, double the size of the container, and its planted where the top of the pot is higher then my surrounding landscape, not by much but it is, and I have mulch but not covering any of the pot area as I read that this is better so the roots can breath. I potted it around 11 days ago now.

The roots were not running completely circular in the container, but some so I broke this up somewhat, but didnt damage it. Also, I added some root simulator, where now I read and its best not to add any fertilizer, well too late for that step
So my best bet is to just leave it as is now, even if I continue to see more leaf burn? Or if it continues to degrade perhaps re locate to a huge pot. It causes a lot of stress every time one disturbs the tree by digging up?

It causes stress if the roots get damaged in the process, which is almost inevitable unless they are in a pot. If it's has only just been planted a couple of weeks ago it would depend if it had sent out any roots into the surrounding soil. Just to clarify, are you saying it is still in a pot sunk in the ground? Can you post a picture of the base of the trunk where it goes into the ground/pot?

Oh no its out the pot and in the ground I can post a pic when I get home, I noticed this yesterday and thought over-watering so I did not water it, but the soil wasn't completely dry, I assume since its a new tree planted I should keep watering it every day

Here are some pics it could be some transplant shock. I'm not sure what can be done about that but just to wait. If it is shock or something or too much sun my best bet now is to just let it be and see how it goes? Continue watering regularly and hope it works out?

The leaf damage appears to be under the bigger leaves but this isn't consistent throughout, its not that it has dried leaves then nice leaves underneath, its more just random with the top leaves being nicer(somewhat) compared to the bottom leaves that are dry and brittle

thank you all for the help

Do you remove the damaged leaves or does this just stress it out more? Just leave it alone and hope for the best?

Yes, it's an odd pattern with the bottom being worse than the top. There look to be some whitish patches on some of the leaves, has it been sprayed with something? Did it come from a garden centre/nursery? I would leave it alone for now, or at least until we can figure out what the problem is.

Step back, take a deep breath. Don't touch the tree.

You have done all you can do; its time to wait to see what the tree does. Anything more you can do at this point will only cause more damage. As your tree isn't completely crispy, I think it will be fine.

Keep watering (the rootball should be damp but not swampy). No more fertilizer (fertilizing a stressed plant may be just the thing that pushes it over the edge).

The crispy leaves will be pushed off when new leaves grow. And, as we haven't determined the cause of the crispy leaves, they may be protecting the un-crispy leaves from becoming crispy leaves.

Ok thank you

It came from a nursery., it was in a shaded area at the nursery. I didnt spray it with anything, I will look again after work but I believe that is just dry spots, but ill check
Ill take a deep breath and let nature take its course, yes they still have some leaves that arent completely damaged so hopefully everything works out, I plan on planting 1 or 2 more under the tree shade area

thank you very much for the responses

Hello. I believe it got worse from yesterday. It looks as if more leaves are dry; most are affected now. Let's say hypothetically all of the leaves do this and all the leaves fall off, when would one try to transplant in a pot? Or just leave it and see what happens? I'm plan on planting another Japanese maple, I was going to whether the outcome, I didn't expect this. I did water yesterday. Perhaps I should just stop watering initial the soil is almost completely dry again. I'll let you all know if anyone is interested

Not an expert, because they won't thrive in my environment, but I would wait until It is dead, for sure, document how you planted it, watered it, and if the scratch test says it's dead, return it to the nursery you bought it from. A soil test might be appropriate before buying another.

Hello. I believe it got worse from yesterday. It looks as if more leaves are dry; most are affected now. Let's say hypothetically all of the leaves do this and all the leaves fall off, when would one try to transplant in a pot? Or just leave it and see what happens? I'm plan on planting another Japanese maple, I was going to whether the outcome, I didn't expect this. I did water yesterday. Perhaps I should just stop watering initial the soil is almost completely dry again. I'll let you all know if anyone is interested