Question

My Japanese Maple   QUESTION: My Japanese Maple's leaves have changed color from a green to a dark red. it was only in a small area of the tree a couple of weeks ago but now its spread. i wonder if any one knows and can help me please? thankyou

ANSWER: Japanese maples often will do this.  If you have had drought and extremely hot temperatures in the last couple of months, the tree may think is is fall and will begin to turn colors too soon in the growing season.  You may also notice that the leaves have brown margins and some browning associated with the leaf color change.  I do not think you have too much to worry about.  Make sure the tree gets adequate water during dry periods and fertilize the tree next spring.  These two items will help to keep the tree greener longer during the growing season.  Good Luck.

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QUESTION: It has been raining a lot over the past weeks and the tree has had quite a lot of water. As well as the leaf problem the some of the branches appear to be dead and drying out. I wonder if you could tell me how to stop the whole tree doing this. Thank You

Answer
Make sure there is not a lot of traffic on top of the root system.  The tree is not that deep rooted and may be affected by too much water causing a lack of air, which may be causing the dieback.  Other than keeping the tree watered, fertilized and preventing physical injuries, there is not a lot to do for trees.  I have seen maples almost completely defoliate but come back out just fine next spring.  I have had a lot of questions on this subject this year and I even have a tree doing the same thing.  I would wait to see what it does next spring before becoming too concerned about the tree dying.  Thanks.