japanese maple

[Donna and James]

I have a Japanse Maple that is about 2 years old and 8 feet tall.
The tree gets full sun on the west side of the house. The leaves are brown in the middle with green edges. The new growth on the top branches is dead, but other than the brown spots on the leaves the tree appears healthy. The tree is watered about 30 minutes every other day. Any idea of the problem? Any input would help.

Thanks
JD
Nashville

 

[treeclimber165]

Sounds like it may be drowning. 30 minutes every other day for a 2-year established tree sounds like too much to me, especially if your soil has a lot of clay. Roots need air as well as water, they cannot grow submerged in water continuously. I'd cut back on the water and only water when the tree and other plants (grass, shrubs) indicate that the ground is too dry.