japanese maple

[katiemay]

I have  a young plant which is growing "leggy", i.e lots of growth on new stems, but when it rains they get weighed down and droop.   Should I pinch out the growing tips to enable the stems to grow stronger?  Also it seems to have lost it red coloring.  Any suggestions would be helpful.   Thanks

[Robinia]

Is it in deep shade katiemay & in a pot or the ground?
Although they do like shelter & dappled shade some sunlight during the day will be beneficial to growth & colour.  If you haven't already been feeding it  (I just use a water on general purpose feed)  that might help but not too much at this time of year.

[Robinia]

I just want to add that I wouldn't do any pruning until spring & don't allow the roots of it to dry out.

[katiemay]

it was not a deep purple - it is in the ground and has sun during the day until about 3 p.m. and then it goes in the shade as the sun moves round.   It isnt in a windy place as the fence is shielding it.

[Robinia]

The loss of colour could be it's preparation for autumn - my neighbours does that before going a glorious orangey red but mine just goes from red to bright purpley red.

The spindly growth could be your soil, (not heavy clay is it?)  lack of / too much water, & lack of nutrients.  Awkward devils aren't they?  Soil needs to be moisture retentive but not soggy.  It's a bit late to be feeding as you don't want new growth at this time of year.  Next yr after the frosts feed every couple of weeks & tidy up any unwanted shoots.  As they are so slow growing it's a long while before you see any results though!

[katiemay]

thanks.   Its just that the new shoots are very long and getting weighed down when it rains.   I have been feeding since spring.   Should I leave it till then to feed now so the new growth slows down?  Its just that I seem to have all shoots and no "trunk".