sad little maple

After all it's been through I'm worried my maple might cark it after all. 

First it got waterlogged in the heavy rains we got last spring, before I realized that two garden beds drained into its corner. So I had to dig it up and put it up in a bit of a raised mound.

Then I got neglectful and let it dry out too much when we had the month or two with almost no rain, and it got even more stressed and even more leaves started to brown.

Then of course we got the stupidly hot weather. More stress, more leaves dying.

But amongst all that the little guy has absolutely fought back. Even before the extreme heat it had started putting out new growth! By the end of the heat wave I thought it was on its way back - it still had about 1/3 of the old leaves, new green leaves coming out at the tips, and lots of fat leaf buds.

But since then it's almost as if it's giving up. There are still fat leaf buds, but most of the new growth has turned black and died. Most of the tips of the longest branches are slowly turning black.

I don't think there's anything more I can do now except hope it recovers over the winter.  The damn thing better not die, it was freaking expensive.