Japanese Maples for zone 5--some confusion
ezochi
17 years ago
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ezochi
17 years agoRelated Discussions
How to care for Japanese maple seedlings?
Comments (35)"We also learned that the potting mix the JM's arrived in was heavy on the bark side.This is commonplace with all growers and grafters of JM's. It ROTS within 6-12 months, so the bark must be removed from the JM's whenever you up-pot...... Remember this: Growers don't ship plants with sustainable soil. It only lasts 6 months." I am going to disagree with this :-) While I don't do it commercially, I grow all my JM's in containers and have for many years.......my oldest is approaching 30 y.o. And my potting mix is and has always been heavily barked-based as it produces a very freely draining, textural and extremely durable media. With this barked based mix (the 5-1-1 discussed intensively on the Container Gardening forum), I do not need to repot or refresh the soil for 3-5 years depending on the container and the size of the tree. Even at that point the soil is still in reasonably good condition. The location and depth of the perched water table is entirely dependent on the soil media being used, not the size/depth of the container. It is quite possible to maintain a small seedling or 1 year graft in a 4" pot or a larger, 7" deep trade gallon for as long as necessary before up-potting provided you are using a highly textural soil that allows for fast drainage. Due to the vagaries of soil physics and water movement, there will always be a PWT in the base of the container but the better the potting mix, the lower/thinner the PWT will be. The reason growers focus on bark-based mixes is for this very reason. They hold up well long term yet provide the aeration and very necessary fast drainage but the degree of moisture retention JM's are happiest in. And also maintain a low PWT. Although it would not be my first choice, your perlite based mix should offer a similar situation. However, I would encourage you to disavow yourself of the notion that a barked based potting mix deteriorates rapidly. 30+ years of using it and growing a large collection of containerized trees (a variety but primarily JM's) has adequately proven that to be inaccurate :-) I would also encourage you to read this thread on container soils and water movement thoroughly to educate yourself on the many qualities of a bark-based mix....See Morejapanese maples
Comments (4)There are many good etailers...feel free to email me personally at myersphcf@aol.com if you want some other scources and advise for our area ...If you are very near St. Louis you are more likely in zine 6b not 5 as I am 100 north and am in 6a ( with the new zone info out ...) Most JM's will do well in your area unless you have another spring like the last one...The St. Louis area was hit much harder than I was and Chicago NOT at all. The Mo. Botanical gardens has many differnt species of JM's although I have no idea whether all or any made it through last spring ...I would guess yes but they will likely be sparce this year ... be prepared to find 90% are NOT marked with any info on what cultivar they are so it is a visual treat not a place to say "hey I like and want that one for my yard;>) david...See MoreJapanese Maples! in Colorado!
Comments (30)A little update -- I've gone a little crazy over here, although by what I have read on the Maples forum, I may just be getting started... I now have 7 Japanese Maples, 3 in pots, and 4 in the ground. These are the cultivars I'm growing: --Bloodgood --Emperor 1 --Seiryu --Butterfly --Orangeola --Inaba Shidare --Sango Kaku I'm happy to report that my bloodgood is putting on all kinds of new growth and seems to be adjusting after an early summer windy week that turned its leaves brown. Also, I'm growing my Orangeola, Butterfly and Seiryu in full sun and they are also all putting on new growth. I'm planning to wrap the trees that are in the ground to protect them from our winter wind. I have planted a row of Junipers to protect them, but these are not quite tall enough yet. I am interested to hear from other people in Colorado what they do for the winter, which cultivars work in what locations, etc... I have generally found people at nurseries to be skeptical, and most of the information available to be quite conflicting in terms of conditions, etc... and I realize that the environments vary so much that this is naturally the case. However, I think those of us willing to experiment in Colorado, might learn a lot from each other experiences. I'm also looking forward to shaping over the winter. I have finally picked up Vertrees Japanese Maples book, and another by Hobson about pruning and shaping called "Niwaki". Both of these are excellent resources, and while I had heard about Vertrees (THE book on Japanese Maples) the other was new. Niwaki is a fantastic explanation for pruning, shaping, and working with your trees to achieve the effects of the Japanese Gardens. In fact, it explains exactly how to do it... Anyhow, I'm also excited that I have 4 seasons of gardening rather than the 2-3 of the standard western garden. Fun! I look forward to hearing updates from any of you willing to share.. and I'll post some pictures of everything above laster this week. Tom...See MoreDid I plant my Japanese maples too close together?
Comments (16)Thank you, Leslie! Stephen, I'm retired and most of my spare time is spent working in the garden. Not all ten acres is worked on. Some of it is left natural with a minimum of interference. Most of my work in the garden is maintenance even though I've tried to keep that to a minimum. I don't grow anything I would have to spray to keep it healthy. Nothing that self seeds to the point it's a pain. The only plant I shear is the Crocagator and I'm usually behind on that. I don't even grow any trees with large leaves I have to rake up. Small leaves are absorbed by the groundcovers or chewed up by the lawnmower. My lawn has been reduced to the size of the average living room. A certified arborist drops his chips off here and I use them as much as I have time for. My wheelbarrow has more miles on it than my truck and my tiller has more miles on it than my lawnmower. I am landscaping a new area of about 6000 sq. ft. and should have it done by this Fall. There's a lot of prep work involved consisting of stumps, old logs, roots, rocks, grade change, and blackberries. Water is available and the rock wall is finished. The work is going smoothly, albeit slower than I'd like. At 72, I'm slowing down a bit. That, and my wife keeps dragging me away on vacation. The work is fun and it keeps me young. If I had stayed behind a desk at Boeing, I'd be dead by now. Mike...See Moremainegrower
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