Diagnose my trident?

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Hello folks, I noticed that my trident maple seems to have an issue of some sort. Yesterday I saw that a lot of leaves were kind of folded inward and brittle. I assumed it was underwatering because it's next to a couple of black pines I used to OVERwater and I've been mindful to try and keep them on the drier side. So I saturated the maple pot last night and it seems slightly improved, but I would have expected underwatering to resolve faster than that? I've read that it should only take a couple hours or so for an underwatered plant to absorb plenty of water to get back to having nice supple leaves. But on the other hand I've also heard that symptoms of overwatering and underwatering are very similar. Any ideas?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Looks like it dried out to me.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Looks like it dried out to me.

That's kinda what I suspected, it seemed to improve a bit overnight, I'll douse it and stick it in a cooler spot out of the wind and see if it recuperates further.

 

[Orion_metalhead]

Same. Photos of pot and soil? Is it in full sun all day?

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Same. Photos of pot and soil? Is it in full sun all day?

it is full sun all day in a terracotta azalea pot (well, usually, I've just watered heavily and stuck it in the shade of a big elderberry next to the house to hopefully recover)

the broken skewers are to deter a squirrel who started trying to bury nuts in my pots

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

One of the key issues is the terra cotta pot.

Unlike a Tokaname training pot these rapidly sucks water out of the media. Also aren’t frost proof.

Please look around for another pot to shift the entire tree and media into this fall. Even a plastic nursery pot is better for the tree.

Good Luck!
DSD sends

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

One of the key issues is the terra cotta pot.

Unlike a Tokaname training pot these rapidly sucks water out of the media. Also aren’t frost proof.

Please look around for another pot to shift the entire tree and media into this fall. Even a plastic nursery pot is better for the tree.

Good Luck!
DSD sends

OH! You know now that you mention it that makes perfect sense. I was planning to get it into a pond basket or the ground this winter. Can I do that once the rain starts back up this autumn? Or pop it into a new pot then wait until late winter for the actual repotting?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

OH! You know now that you mention it that makes perfect sense. I was planning to get it into a pond basket or the ground this winter. Can I do that once the rain starts back up this autumn? Or pop it into a new pot then wait until late winter for the actual repotting?

Pond baskets are worse.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

well, for right now the pot could be put in slightly larger nursery pot. Cut top down down to fit. Then fill the space in between with bonsai media. This ought to solve the pot issue, but not any missed watering.

We usually repot in earls spring, but likely will do fine in the double pot until spring. Normal trident winter protection for the valley.

Lots of time to figure out a decent pot to repot in.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

well, for right now the pot could be put in slightly larger nursery pot. Cut top down down to fit. Then fill the space in between with bonsai media. This ought to solve the pot issue, but not any missed watering.

We usually repot in earls spring, but likely will do fine in the double pot until spring. Normal trident winter protection for the valley.

Lots of time to figure out a decent pot to repot in.

Cheers
DSD sends

perfect, will do, thank you!

 

[Orion_metalhead]

One of the key issues is the terra cotta pot.

Unlike a Tokaname training pot these rapidly sucks water out of the media. Also aren’t frost proof.

Please look around for another pot to shift the entire tree and media into this fall. Even a plastic nursery pot is better for the tree.

Good Luck!
DSD sends

echoes my thoughts 100% Deciduous do not like drier soils. terracotta is great for pines and juniper.

 

[Shibui]

So I saturated the maple pot last night and it seems slightly improved, but I would have expected underwatering to resolve faster than that? I've read that it should only take a couple hours or so for an underwatered plant to absorb plenty of water to get back to having nice supple leaves. But on the other hand I've also heard that symptoms of overwatering and underwatering are very similar. Any ideas?

There's a big difference between dehydrated and dead. It appears that the stems have perked up and are now standing straight so the tree has recovered (initially the tips of the stems would have all been droopy?) Those leaves have been dehydrated enough to be badly damaged (dead). They can't recover from that but you should get new buds emerging from the base of the leaf stems in a few weeks to replace those dead leaves.
It is hard to overwater a trident in good potting soil in summer. Almost impossible to overwater in a terracotta pot. I would increase water frequency for this tree in hot weather.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

There's a big difference between dehydrated and dead. It appears that the stems have perked up and are now standing straight so the tree has recovered (initially the tips of the stems would have all been droopy?) Those leaves have been dehydrated enough to be badly damaged (dead). They can't recover from that but you should get new buds emerging from the base of the leaf stems in a few weeks to replace those dead leaves.
It is hard to overwater a trident in good potting soil in summer. Almost impossible to overwater in a terracotta pot. I would increase water frequency for this tree in hot weather.

Will do, thanks!

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

well, for right now the pot could be put in slightly larger nursery pot. Cut top down down to fit. Then fill the space in between with bonsai media. This ought to solve the pot issue, but not any missed watering.

We usually repot in earls spring, but likely will do fine in the double pot until spring. Normal trident winter protection for the valley.

Lots of time to figure out a decent pot to repot in.

Cheers
DSD sends

okay, is this kind of like what you were describing?

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Nice! That ought to keep things going for awhile.

The good news, there is a tad more growing time left. The not so good news is as stated previously, the damage already done can not be undone. Therefore it may be awhile before things turn around. Maybe even next year.

Please ensure you a good winter over plan ideveloped for this tree.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Nice! That ought to keep things going for awhile.

The good news, there is a tad more growing time left. The not so good news is as stated previously, the damage already done can not be undone. Therefore it may be awhile before things turn around. Maybe even next year.

Please ensure you a good winter over plan ideveloped for this tree.

Cheers
DSD sends

Luckily my winters are not very severe, just chilly and grey and raining, but I do have an attached garage that doesn't get below 40°-ish I could bring it into

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

That’s great!

Please keep this thread updated. Really like to see the trees progress!

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

feeling a bit more hopeful after a few days regarding this tree. the dead leaves are falling off, but it looks like there's some good ones left at the ends of basically all the branches (except the very tip top of the leader) so I assume the tissue between those branch ends and the trunk is all still good as well

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Keep the faith. Tridents can be pretty tough.

Please refrain from any fertilization this year… and remove any residual. It can only do harm at this point.

Happy Friday
DSD sends

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Keep the faith. Tridents can be pretty tough.

Please refrain from any fertilization this year… and remove any residual. It can only do harm at this point.

Happy Friday
DSD sends

oh, thank you! I didn't know that about the fertilizer, I'll get those out of there, luckily nothing super strong, just a couple maruta seed cakes