I don't think you have to move right to questioning his competence. I would check first what assumptions each of you is operating under. If you have given him instructions to produce a certain kind of environment in the yard, shade may be an essential part of that and perhaps he can't produce any other source of shade in the short term and is concerned you'll not be happy with the outcome if there isn't enough shade. Or something. He may also be making some assumptions about how much you want to water your plants. I de-shaded the north side of my house with the removal of a tree and it does get sunny as the sun veers around in the afternoon. New trees are just growing in enough to make an impact 4 years later. If there is a chance you will be removing the big tree at some point within 5 years, the pot is a very good idea for another reason - you'll have to get the little maple out of the way of falling tree parts. They do grow well in pots, especially if the pots are big enough. KarinL

I don't have any expert advice for you, but I just wanted to say I feel really bad for you. I can just imagine her spraying the Roundup like she was putting out a fire. Roundup and weeds are all she knows. I love my trees. I've lived with them for many years and have an emotional attachment to them. As far as dealing with her - find out what the laws are first. Then read her the riot act, calmly but assertively, and tell her what the law requires. (Maybe give her a photocopy or a phone number to call if she has questions.) Give her a deadline to make the corrections, and tell her you will take further action with an impartial third party if she does not do so. If she makes any remarks other than "I'll take care of it immediately!" then just tell her clearly that she does not understand how serious a matter this is, and that her actions are a clear-cut violation of your property rights. The longer she ignores it, and the condition of your property continues to deteriorates, the more difficult it will be for her to resolve financially. If she gives you a hard time, tell her that her attitude is unacceptable, and forces you to put the matter into the hands of a third party immediately. And follow through, of course. This approach has worked for me, and I have never had to take legal recourse, because my no-nonsense attitude gets their attention. It is also civil discourse, and there have never been left over bad feelings. Good that she is moving, but you need to think and quickly if you want her to correct the damage that has been done, that you can at this point document, before she is gone and can ignore you. Good luck. Stick up for your trees!

@Bayarea_girl z9ca I have a JM on my front yard that's upright and stands at about 15ft plus tall. The leaves on my JM don't turn green and stay red all year round. Even if it's extremely hot abd sunny in the Summer it just turns into a darker red like more of a purple/wine coloured shade of red instead of it "Bronzing out" like @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) said. I'm not sure what type of JM i have but through the seasons i know my JM turns into a really super bright almost neon red in the Spring, then during the Summer it turns into a purplish/wine coloured red, in the Autumn/Fall it changes to a brighter blood red color until the Winter time when it turns into a darker burgundy colored red four like a week then all the leaves fall off.

I think the other writers are correct ...with proper planting in a protected place you should be ok with several differnt dissectums but NOT all. Most nuseries carry crimson queens in my area and they wouldn't if they were taboo for this 5b area cause they have 1 year guarentees. I have a ten year old cut leaf dissectum that's about 6 ft yall and wide weeping nicely with no winter dieback even though we've had several -20 degree winter spells. I don't remember it's name so I can't help you there . I do know the green dissectums seem to be hardier although this one is a red one ...at least til this year when the trees around it shaded it too much ( if you want color you'd better put it in a protecterd area with at leas 6-8 hours of summer sun )I've since trimed back the sorounding vegitation so next year it will be RED.If you are interested try www.davesgarden.com and search japanese maples for your zone under plants,japanese maples the site has many knowlegable folks and a forum specifically for JM's David