A long soak once a week – or twice a week during very hot weather, especially if your soil is sandy – will keep up the moisture levels. In a thunderstorm, a lot of the water simply runs off the surface, and bigger trees very quickly suck up any that does go into the ground, so that your Japanese maple may get nothing at all. Don’t rely on rainfall, especially once summer arrives. A slow trickle for an hour to two is always better than a quick, heavy spraying, which often doesn’t go deep into the soil at all. Water well throughout the spring and summer, letting the water soak down into the ground. Add a layer of that organic material over all the roots, to conserve the moisture (and prevent weeds growing too). Digging deeply will allow your tree’s roots to get into the damper soil down below. Dig deeply, and mix that material well into the ground. To protect your tree from drying, add plenty of rich organic material to the soil when planting. While this usually doesn’t harm the tree itself much, it certainly makes the tree look bare and it loses much of its appeal too early in the year. If that water is not replaced from the roots, the leaves dry out, turn brown, and shrivel up. In contrast, Japanese maple leaves are thin and delicate, so they cannot stop losing water. Some garden plants have thick, leathery leaves that only lose a little water by evaporation, so when the soil is dry they are still fine. This must be replaced with water drawn up from the roots. In hot weather, to keep the foliage cool, water evaporates from the underside of the leaves. This is the primary reason for leaves burning. Also, some of the varieties with very finely-cut foliage are especially prone to drying, since the leaves are so thin and delicate. As well, these trees grow naturally in the shade of larger trees, so they do not enjoy hot sun, which is most pronounced in the afternoons. If you live where summers are dry, the soil and root-ball can dry out, quickly causing the leaves to brown and scorch. These trees originate in Japan, and there the summer climate is very damp, with high humidity and frequent rain. There are several interconnected reasons why Japanese maple foliage often dries up and burns in summer. Why Does My Japanese Maple Burn in Summer? With this in mind, let’s lend a hand and give you some tips on how to get your maples through the summer in good health, looking gorgeous and ready for that fall show to come. They then often fall and leave a bare tree just when you want it to be leafy, and of course meaning that those fabulous fall colors are nowhere in sight. Sadly, some new gardeners are disappointed, finding that their plant does not thrive, and that although they begin the year with glorious spring foliage, as summer arrives the leaves scorch and brown. It doesn’t take long for the new gardener to buy their first Japanese maple, since they are so enchanting and appealing.
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