Acer Palmatum Kotohime weird colors-Help?

[Clicio]

Hello all!
I have this japanese maple (1 year old seedling) that suddenly started to show this yellowish/pale color on it's new leaves.
The young tree is in the shade, outside, and now is summer here in Brazil (so it will never drop leaves normally at this time).
Soil is OK, watering also OK, it was not reppoted this year and no fertilizer for the moment; what could it be?
Sorry about the cellphone picture...
Any help will be welcome!

 

[AlainK]

I'd say chlorosis, a deficiency in some minerals like iron or other. See this page:
http://www.canna-uk.com/deficiency-guide

Do you know how hard your water is? If you didn't apply any treatment on it, the white spots on the leaves might be an indication that your water contains a lot of lime, that's it's very hard (that's the case here), so perhaps some fertilizer like the ones used for ericaceas or rhododendron could help...

 

[Clicio]

say chlorosis...

I was wondering about chlorosis, it's a good guess, thank you.

Do you know how hard your water is?

Yes, my tap water is hard. I will try leaving it overnight to see if it helps, thanks!

 

[Clicio]

Should I add some micronutrients to the soil right away?

 

[AlainK]

Should I add some micronutrients to the soil right away?

Since you're in the southern hemisphere and it's like 20th of July here, I'd say yes, but:

It's the heart of summer where you are, so I'd use half the concentration every ten days or so because here it's a period when trees are not usually fertilized and too much chemical can be harmful. Yet, since it's just a seedling, if you're careful, the only risk is that it might grow too fast, but for such a young tree, getting it back to health is probably better than avoiding long internodes: you can deal with that later.

And if you drink coffe, I mean "real coffe", not capsules or instant coffe, you can put the coffe dregs on tha soil. They contain a small amount of nitrogen (good for the green colour and growth of the plant) and are slightly acidic (what J. maples like).

 

[Velodog2]

If your water chemistry’s the problem letting it sit overnight will not help at all. That’s only for chlorine, I’m guessing. I have a standard speech about high alkalinity, which is different from both ph and hardness, but very important and is associated with very hard water. You should have your water tested and if it is above 300 consider treating or using rainwater. High alkalinity can cause symptoms like the distorted leaves shown in the second pic. I lost many trees before I discovered this problem.

 

[Clicio]

And if you drink coffe, I mean "real coffe", not capsules or instant coffe..

Well, this is Brazil after all; coffee is like a religion here!
Capsules? What are capsules?

 

[Clicio]

High alkalinity can cause symptoms like the distorted leaves shown in the second pic. I lost many trees before I discovered this problem.

Thank you, I'll try and test my tap water.
But...
I take care of many other trees, old and young, all watered eith the same water, and this is the first time I have this problem here.
On the other hand, there are quite a few bonsaists around São Paulo and most use tap water with no issues.
I will follow the suggestions above and see what happens; thanks!

 

[AlainK]

What are capsules?

Didn't bother to find the right term in English, I meant:

I much prefer:

I've had it for years, use it every morning ("breakfast" is at least 15-20 minutes to enjoy a nice cup of fair-trade Rwanda coffe). I never wash it, just rinse it in cold water.

Now it's black outside, and so tasty in my cup, hu hu...

I love Java sweet and hot

 

[Velodog2]

Has there been much rain lately?

 

[Clicio]

Has there been much rain lately?

Yes.... How did you guess??

 

[Smoke]

FUNGUS!!!

Daconil three times a week for two weeks. Remove yellow and distorted leaves and place in baggie and dispose. After treatment of two weeks. Spray once a month prophylactically all year.

 

[Velodog2]

Yes.... How did you guess??

I didn’t. But, if the water you are using is to blame then symptoms are much more likely to show up during extended periods of no rain when the trees are depending entirely upon that water. Lots of rain might indicate fungus as smoke suggested!

 

[Clicio]

FUNGUS!!!

Daconil three times a week for two weeks. Remove yellow and distorted leaves

@Smoke Thanks a lot.
Should I drench the soil? Or just spray lightly?

 

[Smoke]

@Smoke Thanks a lot.
Should I drench the soil? Or just spray lightly?

Spray the tree only. Make sure to spray all the leaves top and bottom

 

[ajm55555]

Didn't bother to find the right term in English, I meant

Alain, there was a at the end of the sentence...