deformed leaves

tanlu

Shohin
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Hi everyone,

My red Japanese maple had normal leaves earlier in the spring, but the new growth always turns out to be malformed. The leaves stay wrinkled and some only have 3 lobes rather than the usual 5. Even their shape this year is completely different from last year. Could this be some fungus or over fertilizing?

T
 

bonsaiTOM

Mame
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Cedarville, NY, USA
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Hmmm. I've got the same thing going on. Don't remember it from other years, but for the past 2-3 weeks the new shoots have produced deformed leaves. :confused:

Hope to find some ideas/causes. Perplexing & worrisome!
 

Brian Van Fleet

Pretty Fly for a Bonsai Guy
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Did you repot this spring and work the roots pretty hard? Is it getting too dry between watering?
 

Dav4

Drop Branch Murphy
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Palmatums can have large variations of "normal" leaf size and shape, depending on the cultivar, as well as age, sun exposure, watering/fert regimen, etc. Pics are always helpful in trying to tell if something is "normal" or not.
 

007

Sapling
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Hi everyone,

My red Japanese maple had normal leaves earlier in the spring, but the new growth always turns out to be malformed. The leaves stay wrinkled and some only have 3 lobes rather than the usual 5. Even their shape this year is completely different from last year. Could this be some fungus or over fertilizing?

T

I used to have similar issues with several species of maple (mostly on tridents though). It was never over watered or over fed. I never figured out what it was . . . I suspected a fungal/pest problem and treated with Neem oil, but it never seem to make a difference. The tree did okay, but failed to thrive. I ended up parting ways with the tree . . . .
 

bretts

Shohin
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Sounds familiar to a fungus problem we got down Australia recently but need some pictures for a better idea.
It seems to be happening in other countries as well but people have trouble believing it is fungus as it only shows as damaged leaves. A pathology test showed it was a fungus though.
Bravo worked real well on the trident maples but it is very toxic. Copper is less toxic and worth a try it worked better for the carpinus but not as effective on the tridents.
Spray frequently for best results.
 
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I my self am having the same issue and a few nurseries around me as well. Might be climate related instead of a fungal/pest issue .This year we had no spring to speak of then tons of rain then dry and hot.
 

digger714

Shohin
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Hi Seth. Hope your doing good. All my maples did the same thing. I only have three tridents in pots. The rest are in the ground. I have about 50 tridents, and 20 japanese maples of 7 or 8 different cultivars in the ground, and they all did the same thing here in NC. I thought i might not have got them wet enough before fertilizing, but couldnt have dont all of them. I water first, then put fert on. The tips burned first, then they produced deformed looking leaves, but now are starting to push regular leaves again. Im taking a shoot to my club meeting tomorrow to get some advice. If anyone has anything, ill let ya know.
 
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