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Our Red and Green Acer Japonica leaves have started to curl and drop.

They have been in their respective pots for approx. 8 years and never had any problems.

We live on Dartmoor Devon: we did have a little frost a couple of weeks ago but nothing like that since the leaves have been on but both have the same problem !

Could someone please give us some Help

J. Chomel
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Bill Ainsby-Young
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    Could you show us a picture of your plants for better understanding of your problem? Use the **Edit** button below the post. – J. Chomel May 02 '17 at 14:16

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Photos would have been very useful, but if your trees have been in the same pots for eight years, I'd imagine they're desperate to be in larger pots, or in the ground. I don't know what size pots they're in currently, but you can check whether they're rootbound by turning them out of their pots and having a look. If the rootballs are solid, with roots wrapped round, then they need bigger containers.

Water shortage might be an issue, especially if they're rootbound. Potted plants in large containers in many parts of the UK during March and April do not often need watering, but this year, they certainly would have done because of the unusual warmth, and on a regular basis, as if it were summer.

The other option is frost damage - in the UK, this year, we had a summer like late March and early April, followed by a plunge in temperature of about 10 to 12 degrees and frost at night. The frost caught many new, tender leaves on perfectly hardy plants, but because the leaves were brand new, frost damage occurred.

Check all stems and backs of leaves for signs of insect infestation such as scale and particularly aphids, and for signs of disease - otherwise, photographs are necessary for any further diagnosis.

Bamboo
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  • Maybe they 'think' it is winter again? Decided they came out a bit too early? – stormy May 02 '17 at 17:18
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    @stormy I wouldn't be surprised - I think it feels like winter again too! – Bamboo May 02 '17 at 18:51
  • So much for global warming? I am so bad! Sorry, couldn't hep mesef! – stormy May 02 '17 at 19:51
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    @stormy I don't think you've quite grasped what 'global warming' means, more correctly called 'climate change'... it means more and more random weather, and more extreme weather related events, with an overall global temperature rise, over years, causing melting ice etc. a 2 degree C rise over 50 years has a tremendous impact... The growing season here in the UK has moved by 4 weeks, starting 2-3 weeks earlier and ending 2-3 weeks later than it did 60 years ago. Now that's climate change, not just weather and our 'weather' here is now more random than its ever been, most notably lots more wind – Bamboo May 02 '17 at 20:26
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    @stormy now I think about it, you must surely be aware the USDA zones have been revised over there in the last few years, with most areas moving up a zone or part of a zone...there's a reason for that, and its climate change. Sydney in Australia now has temperatures 45 deg C and higher during the summer months (3 years running) such that people are beginning to move away. Those sorts of extreme heat events used to be much rarer there. But some other places are just drier, wetter, windier or sometimes colder than before. Its a slowly building chaotic, random chain reaction. – Bamboo May 02 '17 at 20:34