Any idea what's eating my Japanese Maple

[Cpl nobby nobbs]

Morning all

I have a young Japanese Maple plant, I only paid a fiver for it about 4 months ago but bugger me if it isn't still alive and growing at a fair old rate. Its about 3ft tall now.

The problem I have is something is eating the leaves just about as fast as it grows them. I can never find any bugs on the plant under the leaves or on the stem, I have slug pellets in the pot.

Some serious stealthy ninja style bugs living around here.

Any ideas what it might be and how do I stop it.

I am not a green fingered person, most plants I have die but this one is really growing so I think it deserves to live.

[hotchy]

I like the pot in the background. It looks dead and derived of life, corroborating your story of not having a green thumb.

Sorry I cant be any help though, equally useless but your tree brought back memories as a kid. My mum had one at the side of the drive. Snapped it with my football so stuck it back in the ground. Took weeks until she noticed it die... I'm fairly sure I got away with it...

[Cpl nobby nobbs]

hotchy said:

I like the pot in the background. It looks dead and derived of life, corroborating your story of not having a green thumb.

Sorry I cant be any help though, equally useless but your tree brought back memories as a kid. My mum had one at the side of the drive. Snapped it with my football so stuck it back in the ground. Took weeks until she noticed it die... I'm fairly sure I got away with it...

It's true I definitely don't have green fingers or anything else for that matter.

The pot in the background is the pot the maple is growing in, it started off about 6 inches and is now 2.5 to 3 ft tall. Only got it at the beginning of summer so it's something I have not managed to kill or let die. But some evil little st is doing its best to dispatch it.

[Skyedriver]

They don't like windy or cold spots around the garden which tends to show as dry crumbly brown bits on the leaves but I agree that looks like insect eating.

[Cpl nobby nobbs]

It is a bit windy where it is, I will try to find somewhere more sheltered.
I definitely think something is eating it but I have never spotted anything on it.

[Deebeezee]

May be Vine Weevil. Absolute buggers to get rid of because the adults and grubs aren’t susceptible to the same treatment.

[PositronicRay]

Bears very likely. Keep an eye out but don't approach them.

[EarlofDrift]

Mine went the same way, it just looks like a stick. Hoping it might make a comeback but I feel it was not for this world and is now life extinct.

[Zetec-S]

You could try re-potting it or planting in the ground?

We had a potted maple which was going a similar way, more of a 2 foot high stick than a tree. When we redid the garden we decided to try planting it in the ground, for whatever reason it loved that and 4 years later is now about 8 foot high with plenty of foliage.

[Cpl nobby nobbs]

Zetec-S said:

You could try re-potting it or planting in the ground?

We had a potted maple which was going a similar way, more of a 2 foot high stick than a tree. When we redid the garden we decided to try planting it in the ground, for whatever reason it loved that and 4 years later is now about 8 foot high with plenty of foliage.

A very valid suggestion, we are in the process of decising what to do with the garden at the moment, that's the only reason it is in a pot. Once we have a plan it will get stuck in the ground.
A 2 ft stick is a pretty good description of it at the moment.