How To Get Rid Of Dead Tips On The Plant?

Question

I have a Japanese maple tree in a pot. I had it for over 1 year now and I keep the plant outside in the balcony on 9th floor (which gets a bit windy). Over a few months the plant leaf tips turned dry and dead-like. I water the plant regularly every week, and cannot decide if its because of overwatering, underwatering, not enough minerals, or the wind affects the tips? Please help.

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Answer 1

You can rule out wind, so that is a start. You can test for all of the other factors, which will help you to figure out what is going on.

Water level should be tested down to about 3 inches into the top of the soil. It should be dry down to that depth, completely, before watering again. A meter may or may not be necessary:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-moisture-in-plants.htm

Testing nutrient levels and pH will help you to rule out nutrient deficiencies or overdoses. These articles will help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

Sometimes, overwatering can cause disease. This does not look like the case here, but preventative fungicides, or biofungicides can help:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/info/using-fungicides-in-garden.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/biofungicide-information.htm

This article will help you to care for the tree:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/japanese-maple/japanese-maples-in-containers.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/japanese-maple/japanese-maples-in-containers.htm