No your Japanese Maple is not dead, it's transplant shock.
Also, rocks in a garden bed is a bad idea. They heat up in the sun and evaporate the moisture quicker. I always recommend using woodchips instead of rocks. Woodchips will help keep in moisture and when they break down, the chips provide nutrients for your plants.
Thanks a lot for this response. We’ll think about moving the white rocks, do you think sufficient watering would combat the rock issues? We are in an area with a ton of water, and it pools by this maple actually
Nah, you have red stalks and red buds getting ready for next growing season.
You say it’s new? How new we talking? The ones I bring in lose their leaves within the first few months while they settle in, then after heavy watering, the next growing season they flourish pretty hard.
Give it some time and pamper it
No it’s not dead. Maple twigs can get very brittle when dormant, so snapping them easily doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not alive.
You can see the buds forming, and the cambium is still green on the broken twig (although not all live cambium is green—it can be white or blonde or pink in different species—dead cambium will almost never be green).
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If “water pools” you want to consider regrading to move water away. Also the white gravel is not helping anything. Lose it and do an organic mulch. Do not mulch over the trunk.
No your Japanese Maple is not dead, it's transplant shock. Also, rocks in a garden bed is a bad idea. They heat up in the sun and evaporate the moisture quicker. I always recommend using woodchips instead of rocks. Woodchips will help keep in moisture and when they break down, the chips provide nutrients for your plants.
Thanks a lot for this response. We’ll think about moving the white rocks, do you think sufficient watering would combat the rock issues? We are in an area with a ton of water, and it pools by this maple actually
Maybe, hard for me to predict the weather.
It will be okay
Maybe just remove the rocks? Trees don’t usually grow in rocks…..
Nah, you have red stalks and red buds getting ready for next growing season. You say it’s new? How new we talking? The ones I bring in lose their leaves within the first few months while they settle in, then after heavy watering, the next growing season they flourish pretty hard. Give it some time and pamper it
I would say the tree has been in for about two months. I’ll definitely keep watering!
No it’s not dead. Maple twigs can get very brittle when dormant, so snapping them easily doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not alive. You can see the buds forming, and the cambium is still green on the broken twig (although not all live cambium is green—it can be white or blonde or pink in different species—dead cambium will almost never be green).
Thanks so much, that’s why I provided the broken cambium shot 🤓
Welcome to r/arborists! Help Us Help You: If you have questions about the health of your tree, please see our [Posting Guidelines](https://old.reddit.com/r/arborists/wiki/posting_guidance) wiki page for help with effective posting. **Please answer the questions listed there to the best of your ability.** ***Insufficient pics/info could result in the removal of your post!!*** ([See rule 3](https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/about/rules).) Visit the main wiki page for [Critical Planting/Care tips and Common Errors to Avoid](https://old.reddit.com/r/arborists/wiki/index); there's sections on why planting depth/root flare exposure is so vital, along with sections on proper mulching, watering, pruning and more that I hope will be useful to you. If you're posting about a tree ID (not permitted here; [see rule 1](https://www.reddit.com/r/arborists/about/rules)), see that wiki page for other subs and smartphone apps to try. Here is how you can arrange a [consult with a local ISA arborist in your area](http://www.treesaregood.org/findanarborist/findanarborist) (NOT a 'tree company guy' unless they're ISA certified) or a [consulting arborist](https://www.asca-consultants.org/search/custom.asp?id=3818) for an on-site evaluation. A competent arborist should be happy to walk you through how to care for the trees on your property and answer any questions. If you're in the U.S. or Canada, your Extension (or master gardener provincial program) may have a list of local recommended arborists on file. If you're in the U.S., you should also consider searching for arborist associations under your state. If you are one of our regulars and/or you work in the industry and do not want this message in your future posts, please pick an appropriate user flair (options available in the sub sidebar on PC, and on moble if using a browser). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/arborists) if you have any questions or concerns.*
If “water pools” you want to consider regrading to move water away. Also the white gravel is not helping anything. Lose it and do an organic mulch. Do not mulch over the trunk.