East Lothian,
United Kingdom 
This acer is about 2 feet high. It has been in for two years. Last year it lost its leaves very early but we thought it was because it was "settling in". The branches looked healthy enough. This year's leaves also looked healthy but recently it has developed rusty edges to the leaves. A gardener we know said that he has tried to grow the same acer and it kept dropping its leaves so that most of the time it was just bare twigs. Is there anything I can do to stop the same thing happening to our acer? Are the rusty bits (see photo) an indication that anything is wrong?
Thanks
SG
4 Jun, 2011
Answers
Dry winds will also do this, especially onthe dissected varieties, so rigging some shelter from the wind is probably in order.
5 Jun, 2011
Any idea of the name of the cultivar you've got there? I think it might be Green Globe, and those 'rusty' bits are where the plant is 'autumning' - this is the colour of the entire leaf and all the leaves before they fall. Early 'autumning' signs like this are usually due to drought conditions - water it well.
4 Jun, 2011