Japanese Maple

35 years ago I planted a Japanese maple in a little 100-year old, 1-1/2 acre copse in back of my house. Since that time it has grown into the most lovely understory tree, signifying itself by its reddish hues under the 80'-100' tall mixture of hardwoods and catalpas. I have grown more and more satisfied with its shape, orientation, and presentation in this little woods over the years.
Last week, a tree trimmer, whose only glory and skill was "knocking over a tree", dropped a worthless, 80' catalpa over my maple, shearing most of its side branches but leaving the header. The local nurseries advise that the tree is sensitive to damage and may not survive, and that it will cost over $1,000 to replace it with anything closely resembling what I had grown to love.
I'm 65+. I can't afford $13.95 for a new two year whip, let alone the price for anything like what's pleased me and drawn mine and everybody's attention for the past quarter century.
Right now, the Japanese maple is dormant for the winter (NW Indiana, 8 miles south of Lake Michigan) and has only a header remaining and some broken side limbs (close to the trunk and jagged, no tears into the bark on the trunk).
Is there a chance for survival? And what must I do?
Sooooo disappointed...!

Oh how sad! I'm so sorry! I don't have any experience with Japanese maples, but one of our silver maples was badly damaged once. I slapped a bunch of pruning sealer over the breaks and it survived just fine. Good luck!

Ah Tim what a shame...and what a knucklehead that guy is....sheesh! Check in with your local retail nursery or your city arborist and tell them what happened. Ask them when the best time to prune a Japanese Maple is for your area (here we do it in January, but it varies by climate). You might even take a trip to Barnes & Noble or a Library and look up photos of Japanese style gardens, they use twisted and off-balance Japanese Maples in lovely ways. Then armed with the best time and nice sharp shears, stand back, and look at it aesthetically. Japanese Maples are still very lovely when twisted or crooked...it gives them character. If you have a friend with an artistic eye have them help. Use sealer like Sylvi recommends and in spring when you see it beginning to leaf out give it a gentle dose of acidic fertilizer. We will all pray for your pretty tree to make it!

Karen

This message was edited Jan 12, 2005 8:46 AM

To be honest, maples are weeds. I had a weeping jap maple who lost every last brabch one winter when it was buried under snow and the melting of it in the spring dragged all the branches down and snapped them. I was left with just a 3 foot stalk...even the top foot of the maple snapped. I was ready to chuck it when it started to flush out new leaves directly from the trunk. Four years later and you'd hardly ever know the plant was once just a stick. It will probably bleed a lot come spring but I don't believe in using sealants...let nature take care of itself. As long as any jagged breaks are cleaned up so no stubs are left, the plant should be fine. It may look a bit pathetic for a few years, but you might be pleasantly surprised how soon it will start to fill in.

Agreed Todd, but I use sealants here because we have beetles & disease that can get into the stems via the cut/broken ends. Tim can check with his local city arborist to see if that is the case in his area or not. I'm with you that this tree will come back beautifully....don't give up on it Tim! They are very tough! :~D

I've known Japanese maples to be very tough. They have to be, because I sure don't show them any mercy!...LOL I've got several weeping types and a few uprights. All of them do quite well, no matter how hot it gets, how dry it gets or how cold it gets. When I DO prune them, they shoot out new limbs very quickly. I'd say (just my uneducated guess/personal observation) your tree will recover if it still has plenty of wood left to shoot out new growth.

Lately, partly because I'm a lazy gardner and partly because I've heard 'experts' on TV say it, I haven't been treating any wounds or prunes on any of my trees. I just prune them properly and let them go. So far so good :)

Good luck!

This is one of my beauties. I love it! If yours was something like this, I feel for you because they really are beautiful trees!


This message was edited Jan 20, 2005 8:42 AM

Tim, along with trying to breathe life back into your maple, are you considering any action against the person who damaged it? Was he someone you hired, maybe with a written contract? Was the damage due to his negligence, or to an understandable accident or sudden wind gust? Was he instructed in advance that the maple was not just an understory weed but a prized specimen to be protected? Depending upon the circumstances, you might want to seek a settlement via his insurance to cover the appraised value of your tree. Then use that settlement to hire a certified arborist in the future, instead of the same careless dope who did the damage.
Guy S.

timcole
I'm with Guy. Try every avenue to seek compensation, especially if you are on a limited budget.

Mary

Timcole...you should submit a claim to the company who damaged your tree for the removal and replacement of another tree of similar size. I am sure it would cost well over a thousand dollars. I worked for a nursery for a while and we frequently received calls from people who wanted us to give them a quote for tree replacement that workers or more frequently drunk drivers had damaged. In PA $1000 would purchase you a 8-10' Japanese Red Maple and may not include planting costs.

Hopefully you notified the company who damaged the tree and filed a report the day the incident occurred.

Thank you so much for all your help. I waited this long to see what effect all our efforts might achieve: the Japanese maple came back, new leaves and maybe new shoots! It appears weak but healthy.
I have it in typical northern Indiana heavy clay soils. Because my son-in-law is a severe worrywart we had the surrounding dead and dying Catalpas uprooted (long story why there even there, but 80'-90' tall and nearly 100 years old). I don't think any of the root area of the maple has been disturbed, just the top and side branches from the "fallings".
However, we have have had the worst drought in fifty years -- there has been no rainfall over 1/4" since April and only an inch accumulation for the past three months! and this is not an easy area to run a hose to -- over 400' to the nearest hydrant, which isn't mine. How well do Japanese maples tolerate drought?

We are in drought conditions also and none of my jm's have been effected in the least...they seem to be very deep rooted like most other maples..I wouldn't worry certainly one as old as yours .... If you read these posts MUCH more problems come from over watering and fertilizing ...Todds descrition of weeds is apprapro...I also agree with Todd that it will most liky survive and you can probably get a pro to trim it so it doesn't look so nuclear and the branches cleanly cut (as another suggested)
As far as treating limbs with sealer NO PROFESSIONAL WOULD EVER RCOMMEND THAT (SORRY TO THE TWO THAT DID IF YOU ARE). If you ask a thousand pro's 996 will say it's wothless . I stopped using years ago and have "never" looked back IT MADE NO DIFFERNCE at all with any of my trees ... and some folks also say it prevents proper healing but whatever at minumim it's worthless IMHO...David

End of summer update:
After a very traumatic event (the shearing of all side limbs leaving only a header and side limb stumps);
After the driest spring and summer that I've ever known;
After probably the hottest summer anyone has ever known;
After nearly all old growth (around 100 years) trees around the Japanese maple have been removed, reducing the "draw" of ground water;
The Japanese maple is still living but shows tremendous stress.
No leaves have fallen, and new growth is evident along the trunk but without redeeming fall moisture and the replenishing winter moisture, even this could be interrupted.
Because of all that has happened to this poor tree, it will take two or three years to properly judge its capacity to survive.
Thank you, all, for your suggestions and commiserations.

Poor little thing! At least it is still hanging in there and putting out new leaves.

Timcole -
I once had a laceleaf maple in the nursery for sale that got half of it's canopy broken off by a falling larger potting tree in the wind. After mourning its pitiful unsalability, I planted it in my own garden. 4 years later it was 5ft wide and goregous having repaired itself completely. However water is important to a struggling plant - as is fertilizer. Reservors made from pop bottles would help the situation immensely and you can carry water to refill them once or twice a week when it is so dry.