Native Plants
![](../_images/smarty_plants.gif)
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
![](../_images/mr_smarty_plants_logo_web_200w.jpg)
rate this answer
![](../_images/star_00.gif)
Saturday - July 16, 2011
From: Lebo, KS
Region: Midwest
Topic: Diseases and Disorders, Seasonal Tasks, Transplants, Trees
Title: Leaves on 3 year old maple turning brown in Lebo, KS.
Answered by: Jimmy Mills
QUESTION:
Hello, one of our five Maple trees which is is 3 yrs. old now, we saw a week ago that the leaves started turning brown and dropping. My question is: Will the tree survive this and return healthy next spring? We have been watering it since this happened, e/o day. Thank you!ANSWER:
Some thoughts that race through Mr. Smarty Plants’ head: What has changed recently in the plant’s world? (watering, fertilizing, insect attack.....?) Have all of the leaves dropped? Is the plant alive? What about the other four maples?
This may sound strange, but even after three years, your plant may be experiencing transplant shock. Being transplanted is is a stressful experience for a plant, and in some cases it can take up to five years before the situation stabilizes. This can vary depending on the type of plant, soil conditions, amount of moisture, and other environmental factors. Right now in Texas, we are having a drought.
I’m going to refer you to some web sites that deal with tree planting, transplant shock in trees, and watering tips (you should reduce the watering to only once a week at most).
Transplant shock
north scaping.com
gardeningknowhow.com
To determine if your plant is living, you can do the “thumbnail test”. Take a small upper branch and scrape of some of the outer bark with your thumbnail. You are looking for green (living) tissue. If you find none, move down the stem a little bit and try again. Continue down the stem until you find green tissue; if none is found, I'm afraid that your tree isn’t alive.
More Transplants Questions
Transplanting large trees in Austin, TX
March 30, 2007 - Hello,
I'm new to Austin and live in Circle C Subdivision off of Hwy 45 and Spruce Canyon. We would like to plant a couple of trees that will provide shade. I've read your Q&As but would like ad...
view the full question and answer
Trimming back Agave havardiana
June 05, 2008 - Hi.. thanks for all the great information on Agaves. We have a number of Agave Havardiana (blue) that love where we planted them. Several have gotten HUGE. So much so that they are starting to ge...
view the full question and answer
Transplanting and Pruning Callicarpa
August 21, 2014 - I saw the previous question about Callicarpa from the guy in Texas and I have two questions based on the response. In SW Vermont, is late fall still the best time to transplant my Callicarpas? Also, i...
view the full question and answer
Problems with transplanting cenizo in Weatherford TX
September 29, 2009 - I tried to transplant a Silverado Sage into a large pot but within 1 day it started wilting. Could it be the soil? I used potting soil not soil from the ground which is a sandy soil.
view the full question and answer
Transplant shock of non-native Bougainvillea
May 22, 2008 - Well I bought two Bougainvilleas, the first one I transplanted is doing great, the second one not so good when I was taking it out of the original pot the root ball stayed in the pot but the plant wit...
view the full question and answer
Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |