Why are the leaves of my Acer looking singed?

Question

The Acer is in a half barrel and has been for a couple of years. It has been suggested that it may need to come out of the pot into the ground. I really do not have a suitable site and would prefer to keep in a container.
This happened weeks before the heatwave so not that !

Answer 1

Does this barrel allow excess water to drain fully? These trees are usually ok with being in container and root bound for quite awhile. I’m inclined to believe that it is more likely a fungal infection. You can try treatment of dolomitic lime and wettable sulfur, but you may not notice a full recovery until next year.

If you still suspect it being rootbound, then you can pull it out of container, shake off excess soil and trim off about 1/3 of the roots, mostly the larger roots, leaving some larger roots, but mostly thin roots to take back over. Repot into fresh soil, and make sure that there is adequate drainage. This will give the tree a fresh start, as if it were put into a larger container.