Why have my acer palmatums possibly died?

United Kingdom

Two acer palmatums were grown from twigs in pots on our south-facing patio. Both thrived and grew to small shrub size over the past four years. Last year the leaves of one turned brown and withered, and the twigs became grey and brittle. We assumed death, but this spring a branch has sprouted from the base of the stem which has normal leaves. Our other acer behaved normally last year - foliage, followed by foliage loss in autumn - but has not come into bud this spring. What went wrong? We don't want to start again until we know the problem. All advice welcome. Many thanks.

On plant acer palmatum

3 Jun, 2009

Answers

Bamboo

the one that turned brown and withered might have been suffering from drought (I know it's hard to believe, given the weather last summer, but it's in a pot). The other well, we had a harder winter than usual, is it possible it was more exposed and cold got to the roots? If it was frozen for any length of time (and if it was wetter, it might have been) that'd kill it. This all assumes you haven't found any other signs of disease or infestation.

3 Jun, 2009

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