One of these things is not like the other!

[KingofBattle]

So this is my second season raising my bonsai plants. You can see my little setup. This summer though I purchased a trident maple in Harrisburg, PA and drove it down to where I live in Fort Knox, KY.

I kept the maple in full sun, no cover and watered it when the soil dried out. I noticed the tree was “wilting” with it a week. leaves were green but very droopy. I then moved it to under my patio where it still gets full sun but does have a bit of overhang protection. unfortunately I left town for a few days, trip got extended and I didn’t water it for 8 days. it got a bit of rain but no more than a sprinkling 2-3 times.

Upon my return the leaves are completely brown and the new growth looks to be turning a dark brown/black as it’s curling up. since my return I have continue to water it and it still has solid fertilizer on top of the soil.

I have posted pics and am looking to figure out if it is recoverable? Did transport and/or 8 days of watering it really kill it? Thoughts on what I should do?

I appreciate everyone’s time and consideration!

 

[0soyoung]

'Droopy' means a loss of turgidity which is not enough water. In fact, the sudden appearance of wilting is one of the best indicators that is appropriate to water (immediately). Droopy stuff should perk right back up within an hour.

Persistence of droopy = root troubles --> not enough functioning ones. Could be lack of oxygen (anoxia) that arises from a substrate with too low an air filled porosity, Could be watering too much (which reduces the air filled porosity (i.e., drowning). Could be root rot (sniff near the substrate surface and it stinks, which is a symptom of long term anoxia). Could be that it was too strongly root pruned (though tridents can take a lot of root loss in stride, it is very prone to anoxia because of watering too frequently). If you can wiggle your finger into the substrate near the edge of the pot, the medium is not fully saturated with roots and it is prone to 'over watering' --> keep sticking your finger in to know if it is dry (droppy and dry --> do water now; else no).

If those brown leaves don't drop within another couple of weeks, it most likely is dead. Leaf abscission is a life process. Dead trees don't drop leaves. If they do drop, put it back in sun. New leaves should pop out a few weeks after the leaf drop. Being in the sun as they emerge, these new leaves will develop adapted to full sun light levels and should not burn. As the new leaves emerge they will be kinda wilty but they will subsequently 'harden' as we call it. If the progress moves back to wilty, you should probably water and witness them perk back up within about an hour.

On the other hand, if these leaves (pictured) don't drop, you should do a bit of an autopsy to assess what went wrong.


btw, there is also the famed scratch test of simply scraping the bark on a stem to see if it there is green cambium underneath. It is a reliable test, but cambium, but not a good one for this circumstance. It is a good way to assess whether one's tree is dead in spring or just late coming out of winter dormancy.

 

[Shibui]

looks like another case of drought. Maples in bonsai pots just cannot go more than a day or 2 without water in summer.
The good thing is that trees have survival mechanisms. First to go are the tips, then older leaves then small branches die back from the tip. The tree is trying to preserve the core trunk and roots in case water returns.
Provided the drought has not been too long or too deep they will usually sprout from dormant buds on surviving branches or the trunk.
I can see some brown shoots = dead but think I can also see a couple that are still green. No need to scratch the bark if you can see green bark on shoots. Green means life.

Just continue care. The tree can't use much water with no leaves so water only when it needs some. Some sections will surely be dead but I would expect some new buds in a few weeks.

Trident maples cope well with transport. I mail them to customers all year round and have no problems. Under watering does cause problems and can definitely kill trees in pots.