Question:
I have a beautiful ten-year-old red Japanese Maple that was stunning last year. After the leaves turned brown, the maple dropped two-thirds of its leaves around mid-December. The remaining brown and curled leaves just hung on the tree. Eventually, I removed them by hand in late January. The branches, stems, and limbs look healthy and show no signs of shriveling. My other Japanese Maples dropped all of their leaves as they always have. I’ve been told it might be sick, but the person wasn’t sure why. Do you know what is happening or what could be wrong with this Maple?Answer:
- I wouldn’t worry too much about your Japanese Maple.
- While this isn't typical, the partial leaf drop isn't a sign of trouble. A plant's genetic traits and environmental conditions influence leaf drop, so something has changed; however, it’s hard to pinpoint, and you wouldn’t be able to change it anyway.
- Manually removing the old leaves, as you did, does not harm the plant.
- Your information source may have mentioned a problem called Verticillium or Fusarium Wilt. These vascular diseases block the main plant arteries for nutrients and water during the growing season.
- When the water flow is disrupted, you’ll notice leaf curl in parts of the canopy, resembling water stress, windburn, and leaf drop. Another symptom of the disease is small and larger stems turning black.
- The decline typically happens over several growing seasons. Verticillium and Fusarium Wilt are pretty common in Bay Area soils; unfortunately, we have no chemical controls for them.
- Susceptible plants and the disease can coexist for many years before showing symptoms. Camphor, Olive, Wisteria, Pistache, tomatoes, and other plants will likely suffer from Verticillium and Fusarium Wilt.
- Curly or shriveled leaves, especially during the dormant season, do not indicate Verticillium or Fusarium Wilt.
- However, I doubt you have any issues with either based on your description.
Question:
I have so many beautiful daylilies that I'm thinking about giving some away. When is the best time of year to divide them?Answer:
- Daylilies are divided in spring and fall, from March through May and October through November.
- No special techniques or precautions are necessary when dividing Daylily clumps.
- Since Daylilies have a fleshy, tuberous root system, use a round, pointed shovel to dig around the clumps before lifting them from the ground.
- Daylily clumps can be divided into as many sections as desired. Before planting the new divisions, amend the soil with a soil conditioner and/or homemade compost, and add a handful of starter fertilizer at the bottom of the hole.
- You can find several YouTube videos by searching for “Dividing Daylilies.”