CPG, the Japanese forest grass (Hakone grass) is always high on my list for pairing with Japanese maples, too :-) I also lean heavily towards epimediums and heucheras as well. Low growing plants in gold tones are a great compliment for weeping red leafed JM's as is blue-toned foliage, often provided by hostas. The only codicil for companion plants is to avoid anything that will require frequent division as extraneous cultivation in the root area will not be appreciated by the maple and can lead to problems.

I had hosta, epimedium, korean bleeding hearts (dicentra exemia), hakonachloa aureola, Japanese painted fern, and a bunch of other stuff under my Bloodgood. It was very shady as the neighbor had big trees and there was a 5' fence just on the other side. I also put a goldfish pond underneath. Unfotunately, it caught that blight and begin to die a slow death...Here's what my garden looked like the last year I was there (2004). You can look at other items in this album, as there is a garden bed planted underneath a Norway maple and along the fence was shaded by the Norway and the neighbor's oak trees (all mature). Here is a link that might be useful: My bed under bloodgood

sorry for the delay in getting back, thanks for the advice! We planted the large one and it looks fantastic, I learned about transplanting and watering properly with the starter fertilzer. We didn't do that correctly last year on the serviceberry we planted in the back, and it's not looking so great, I might add a new post about that. I can't tell if it's just dry or has a bug. The deep watering didn't seem to perk it up very much. The mounding jap. maple is still sitting a few feet in from the larger one, now suddenly in shade, and we're waiting until the new bed is ready for it. I think it will be a slightly raised bed, and I'm assuming it will need more water as a result? We have a slope to the front yard and it's down closer to the sideawalk, so I'm thinking the front will be higher and the back pretty much ground level. We have no idea how big it's going to get since we didn't plant it originally, but based on others we've seen in neighbors' yards, I'm thinking a pretty good sized mound, maybe 5 feet wide. If it gets any larger than that, it will be too big and we'll have to move it again to the back. It'll be the focal point in its new location, full-on southern exposure, so I'm not sure how to shade it for a few days. Any suggestions there? It's a small city lot front yard. Maybe some staking material with a paper or plasic "shield" attached....

Verticillium is present in most soils in temperate regions - it has a huge host range of more than 300 species of plants and only a portion of them are trees or other woody ornamentals. It's an opportunistic pathogen, remaining inactive or static in the soil for very long periods of time until prompted into activity by a combination of soil moisture, temperature and - it is believed, although not confirmed - by root exudates from stressed plants. And short of solarizing/sterilizing the soil, there are no recognized controls. Maples, Asian maples in particular, tend to be more prone to VW than many other plants. If you search for "Verticillium wilt-resistant trees", you should turn up various listings of species that are known NOT to be susceptible to this problem. There's also a large number of trees whose susceptibility is not fully known but generally are not affected by VW and are therefore assumed to be resistant. It's a bit of a gamble planting one of these but usually they are OK. In general, a moderately acidic soil tends to limit the pathogen by increasing the availability of elements that are toxic to the fungi. An organically amended acid soil also encourages the development of antagonistic benefical soil organism that compete with or feed on the pathogen. And test the soil before fertilizing as unbalanced fertility (too high nitrogen levels, too low phosphorus levels) have been shown to have a correlation to the prevelence of the disease. Reddish coloring may be difficult to accomplish :-) Fagus (beeches) are not known to be susceptible and are available in cultivars with red/purple foliage. Katsura, Cercidiphyllum japonicum, is also resistant - you could try the selection 'Rotfuchs' (Red Fox). Sweetgum, Liquidambar, will also produce good fall colors and is resistant. There are also cultivars of red maple, Acer rubrum, that are reputed to be resistant, but I'd be very cautious replanting with one of these. Most other trees with red foliage - Prunus, virtually any other maple, ash, cotinus - are susceptible to the pathogen and should be avoided.