Japanese Maple - Ask Extension
My neighbor asked me if there is anything he can do for his tree, which I believe is a Japanese Maple.
There are several branches that look dead. Mos...
Knowledgebase
Japanese Maple #929794
Asked April 27, 2026, 2:38 PM EDT
My neighbor asked me if there is anything he can do for his tree, which I believe is a Japanese Maple.
There are several branches that look dead. Most leaves are limp but there are a few that are red. He put plant trust on it and cleaned up underneath. Any suggestions?
Baltimore County Maryland
Expert Response
Plant Trust is a fertilizer, and added nutrients should not be needed (and in fact fertilizing damaged or stressed plants may make the situation worse, so for the future, he should not fertilize any plant until its ailment can be diagnosed).
This is damage from the frost/freeze that much of Maryland experienced last week. Hardy plants do not retain their freeze tolerance once they have broken dormancy and begun to produce new growth, which is why temperature swings between very mild days and cold snaps in spring can be very damaging. We've received many inquiries about such damage on a variety of tree, shrub, and perennial species that had begun to grow or leaf-out when the we had a freeze overnight.
Nothing can heal the injured tissues, but healthy and well-established plants usually have enough energy reserves to produce new growth, though it may take them a few weeks to start to look normal again. It would be best to wait to see how the plant fares, and only trim branch tips if they remain bare (having no new growth; that probably will not be a problem in this case) once the rest of the tree leafs-out again. The wilted/singed leaves will eventually fall off on their own as they dry out.
We are still in a worsening drought, carried over from the past two years of insufficient rain. It would reduce plant stress to monitor them for watering needs and irrigate them periodically as needed. The linked page has watering guidance. Producing new growth requires ample root moisture, and the process can be hindered or stalled if a plant is too drought-stressed.
Miri
This is damage from the frost/freeze that much of Maryland experienced last week. Hardy plants do not retain their freeze tolerance once they have broken dormancy and begun to produce new growth, which is why temperature swings between very mild days and cold snaps in spring can be very damaging. We've received many inquiries about such damage on a variety of tree, shrub, and perennial species that had begun to grow or leaf-out when the we had a freeze overnight.
Nothing can heal the injured tissues, but healthy and well-established plants usually have enough energy reserves to produce new growth, though it may take them a few weeks to start to look normal again. It would be best to wait to see how the plant fares, and only trim branch tips if they remain bare (having no new growth; that probably will not be a problem in this case) once the rest of the tree leafs-out again. The wilted/singed leaves will eventually fall off on their own as they dry out.
We are still in a worsening drought, carried over from the past two years of insufficient rain. It would reduce plant stress to monitor them for watering needs and irrigate them periodically as needed. The linked page has watering guidance. Producing new growth requires ample root moisture, and the process can be hindered or stalled if a plant is too drought-stressed.
Miri
