QuestionWhat can/should be done to a japanese maple that bloomed early and lost all leave during late frost. Some leaf re-growth has occured on trunk and very little on branches. I have two of these and both look about the same.
AnswerMake sure they are mulched with not more then 3 inches of mulch and keep watered when it does not rain. I would wait before I pruned the non leaving branches. hardwood after a frost kill will normally re-foliate. The way to tell if a branch is alive is to scrape a small bit of bark off the branch near the end and if the color under the bark is green the branch is still alive . If the color is brown the the branch id dead at this point on the branch. If brown continue down the branch until you find green. You can either prune the brown part off or wait and see what happens and prune later. Keep the tree watered during dry spells.
