Ornamental Trees & Shrubs

Question

I purchased a Coonara Pygmy Japanese Maple Topiary this spring and had one of the community’s landscaping guys plant it.
I was disturbed when I saw that he had emptied one-third bag of Hollytone into the planting. The leaves never turned red. It gets a sufficient amount of sunlight so I don’t think that’s the problem. Could too much acidity be the problem? If so, how do I correct this?

Answer
The Coonara Pygmy Japanese Maple usually starts off in spring with a pale pink to green leaf. By summer the leaves should be green. With the cooler temperatures of fall, the leaves will feature orange, yellow and a splash of red here and there.

Hollytone is a good fertilizer, and, while used primarily for acid-loving plants, should not be harmful to the maple. The iron in it should not change the soil pH by much, if at all. If you get a chance, bring us a soil sample and we’ll check the pH for acidity/alkalinity while you wait for no charge. As you come into the store, head back to our greenhouse. It will take us about 5 minutes.