u/tuacugina

Hi everyone,

I posted this in plantclinic but hoping to receive maybe some more specific advice here.

I received this Japanese Maple (Taylor) as a gift this past winter. In spring, it produced lots of new leaves and branches, so I thought it was receiving the right amount of care in terms of sunlight, watering, and overall conditions. The first photo shows how healthy it looked back then. I’ve been watering it about once a week, always waiting for the soil to dry out before watering again, and I’ve been fertilizing it about once a month. The soil is a general-purpose mix, but I chose a high-quality one because I want my plants to thrive.

Then summer arrived. Here in Italy, we’ve had several heat waves, with temperatures reaching around 36–38°C. That’s when the leaves started drying out, as you can see in the other photos. Thinking it might be suffering from sun scorch, I moved it to a spot with less direct sunlight, but its condition kept worsening. In the last photo, you can see that only one small branch is still green, while all the other leaves have completely dried up. The branches and trunk, however, are still green and seem to be alive.

Do you think it can still be saved? Has anyone experienced something similar or have any advice on what I should do next?

Thank you very much for any help!

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping to get some advice because I’m honestly heartbroken.

I received this Japanese Maple (Taylor) as a gift this past winter. In spring, it produced lots of new leaves and branches, so I thought it was receiving the right amount of care in terms of sunlight, watering, and overall conditions. The first photo shows how healthy it looked back then. I’ve been watering it about once a week, always waiting for the soil to dry out before watering again, and I’ve been fertilizing it about once a month. The soil is a general-purpose mix, but I chose a high-quality one because I want my plants to thrive.

Then summer arrived. Here in Italy, we’ve had several heat waves, with temperatures reaching around 36–38°C. That’s when the leaves started drying out, as you can see in the other photos. Thinking it might be suffering from sun scorch, I moved it to a spot with less direct sunlight, but its condition kept worsening. In the last photo, you can see that only one small branch is still green, while all the other leaves have completely dried up. The branches and trunk, however, are still green and seem to be alive.

Do you think it can still be saved? Has anyone experienced something similar or have any advice on what I should do next?

Thank you very much for any help!