Acer

I have a 3yr old Acer which has a dark crimson leaf,the leaf is now changing to a green colour,can anyone tell me why this is happening.  

Could just be seasonal , the colouration in mine is changing at the moment .

Two of my variegated Acers produced plain green stems and leaves this year. I don't know why this happened but I just cut them out like you do all variegated reversions.

I was at the Wisley flower show yesterday and spoke to a lovely lady who specialises in acers - precisely because mine (a purple, palmatum, about 2 ft high) is also going greener now, as well as having slightly dried out/crispy edges to some of its leaves.

She told me that loads of their plants have been suffering too- the change in colour, she thinks, is due to the weird weather, with a late start for the warm season, at a time when the acers would normally be starting to wind down for the year. Apparently this awful Spring we had, and a relatively late summer which is still very warm for the time of year, has tired out lots of acers, especially the purple kind, which are putting less energy into their leaves at the moment.

She told me the crispy edges are normally due to lack of water.

She said the best thing is to feed it with a seaweed fertiliser, fortnightly until the end of October, then again in the Spring.

Hope this helps!

Thankyou for all your replies i feel much happier now and i shall try the seaweed fertiliser 

Good luck - let us know how it goes! Mine has had a heavy whack of seaweed a couple of days ago, plus several waterings...we'll see

After three treatments of seaweed my acer is back to its deep purple colour,it has never looked so good.

Thankyou so much freshairfanatic.

I have found the information very helpful and mine are looking so much better too. Thanks

Never knew about the seaweed treatment, shall try from next Spring. My, actually daughter's, pot grown one does get regular doses of diluted worm juice throughout the growing season. As garden is on the windy side it's tucked into a more sheltered corner, so less leaf drying/scorching.

It's colour change this year is spectacular, especially since it's in front of a varigated Acuba, with pots of large Hostas in front which are a wonderful shade of rich yellow at the mo. Good combination. J.

Glyn I was thinking the same thing. With us being further North & you a bit higher up than me I think, & decided that feeding now for mine, in pot, not worth it this season, but will start next Spring. J.