By Jannt86
United Kingdom 
I live in the midlands in England. Earlier this summer I planted a little Japanese maple and a Japanese flowering cherry tree. They were doing fine but then I went on holiday for 2 weeks and they were not watered. I presumed that at this time of year that they would not need it and it would rain plenty. However, I've just returned and the maple has shed almost all of its leaves. There are some in the middle of the tree which look reasonably healthy but the end branches are totally bare. The cherry tree I notice its leaves have gone from a nice green to a red/brown colour. Are my trees just going though their normal autumn changes or should I be worried? Please help as they weren't cheap and I've grown quite fond of them so don't want them to die. Thanks :-)
23 Sep, 2017
Answers
Once we get to end of October, you can stop worrying about watering them until spring next year. October is often warmish and dry, but if its wet and cold, you don't need to worry about watering then either. If the weather is warm and dry (and especially if its windy too) for a couple of weeks in, say, April, ensure you keep both supplied with water, and do so ongoing in similar weather conditions. After two years, they'll be well settled in and won't need watering at all unless we have a drought for weeks.
24 Sep, 2017
Maples trees & fruit trees are extremely thirsty trees. Newly planted trees don't yet have the root structure to search for water & must be watered continuously the first year, until they develop a root structure.
I think your trees are fine; they just went to early dormancy due to lack of water. It's a survival technique. Just keep the trees watered & they should bloom just fine in the spring.
23 Sep, 2017