Leaves drying out on japanese maple

[TheRollercoaster]

I might be a bit late posting this but I had some contrasting thoughts about this tree.
I've had this Japanese maple since May of last year and was very glad it made it through his first winter since I had it. It suffered from some leaf scorching last summer as well, but not as bad as this time. I might have made a big mistake by opening a large wound at the top of the trunk (you can see the paste in one of the photos), at the start of the summer, at the same time which I made some minor pruning. So I guess the sky high temperature of these last days here in Italy and the fact it is trying to heal the wound is not very beneficial to the health state of the leaves and the tree itself. It also rejected 2 little buds that were forming near to the chop
Anyway, do you think there's anything I can do to save it at this point? Right now I keep watering it thoroughly every evening, adding some generic ferlizer once a week.

 

[pandacular]

What level of sun is this tree getting? I've visited Italy in July and I myself was wilting. Can't imagine this poor japanese maple if it's in full sun. I would try to get it in a spot with only morning sun, or if that's not possible, provide a shade cloth of some sort.

 

[crab apple]

Had one do that in Florida, it eventually defoliated itself and regrew new leaves. All it needs is way more shade, In the summer time mine have to live under a 50 percent shade cloth and they are doing ok. Any amount of full sun it too much.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

Anyway, do you think there's anything I can do to save it at this point? Right now I keep watering it thoroughly every evening, adding some generic ferlizer once a week.

A couple things that can be done right away to help.

1. Kept moist not wet. Use minimal water necessary.
2. Cut sun down to early morning nlt 9:30 ish, bright shade or dappled sun rest of the day.
3. Most of all absolutely do not fertilize at all until the temperates go down below 32C high and new green pushes successfully and hardens. Fertilizing now just puts the dormant tree at risk of getting dried “burned”.

Good Luck
DSD sends

 

[TheRollercoaster]

What level of sun is this tree getting? I've visited Italy in July and I myself was wilting. Can't imagine this poor japanese maple if it's in full sun. I would try to get it in a spot with only morning sun, or if that's not possible, provide a shade cloth of some sort.

It does get only morning sun, from sunrise to about 9/10 am. It is placed under a pergola

 

[Shibui]

Unless the wound is huge it should not be affecting leaves and even if the wound was affecting your leaves it would only impact the leaves above the wound.
My guess is it is not getting enough water. Too much sun can do it too but as you only have morning sun that should be OK.
Did you repot it this season? Reason for asking is that roots fill the pot. Each year the soil becomes more filled with roots making it harder and harder for water to penetrate and stay in the soil. I find it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain watering through summer after a few years without repotting.
My recommendation would be to soak the pot in a tub of water each week to make sure it is properly wet. Water as normal in between.

 

[TheRollercoaster]

Unless the wound is huge it should not be affecting leaves and even if the wound was affecting your leaves it would only impact the leaves above the wound.
My guess is it is not getting enough water. Too much sun can do it too but as you only have morning sun that should be OK.
Did you repot it this season? Reason for asking is that roots fill the pot. Each year the soil becomes more filled with roots making it harder and harder for water to penetrate and stay in the soil. I find it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain watering through summer after a few years without repotting.
My recommendation would be to soak the pot in a tub of water each week to make sure it is properly wet. Water as normal in between.

I repotted it last year's spring by slip potting in a bigger pot, filling it up with some quality bonsai soil (got it from a specialized online shop). I was planning to give it a proper repotting next year.
However I don't think it lacks water in the soil. The surface is covered with sphagnum moss which helps a lot. For instance every time I water it I first check the moisture of the soil beneath the dried moss, it is always a bit wet, I mean never dry for sure. Anyway I think I'll try the soaking method once a week instead of normal watering and also stop the fertilizing as someone mentioned above.
It is now also staying in a shaded place for the whole day, so it never gets direct sunlight even in the morning.

 

[RoadManDenDron]

The weather in Italy is making it onto our news in the UK every day right now,

My club is discussing ways to protect our trees from the heat here because so many members lost trees the last couple years and our temps are not even close to what you get.

maybe even your morning sun is too hot right now for a JM, is there any way to get it in sunrise or say 5-6 AM sun? if not I would have it in only indirect sun all day until after this heat wave. Possibly with a moist towel over the pot

 

[Shibui]

I repotted it last year's spring by slip potting in a bigger pot, filling it up with some quality bonsai soil (got it from a specialized online shop).

This can cause problems if the roots do not grow out of the old mix and into the new and that is more common than many would think as roots do not seem to like moving between 2 very different media. Check to see that new roots are growing into the new soil mix.
Water will soak through the new, open mix but will often not move into the older, root filled soil so check in the older soil to see how much moisture is available to the roots.

Japanese maple is not easy as bonsai. They do not like heat and sun and are much more difficult to prune well than tougher maples like trident maple.
Good news is that even Jm are tough enough to survive loss of at least one set of leaves each year. New leaves will grow to replace the burnt ones provided it has better conditions.
Best of luck with yours.