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Will I kill this Japanese maple?

17 years ago

I want to buy a Japanese maple that is at my local garden center, but they don't even know the variety. It is an upright tree type, small light green leaves (turning orange-yellow now), with bright red stems. I was thinking maybe it is 'Sango Kaku', except the leaves don't seem to be as deeply divided as a picture seemed to indicate - they are smaller and less divided. The garden center is certain that this tree was ordered and received as a 'Japanese maple', though.

I don't really care what its name is; I just want it to live and prosper. The trouble is the best spot I have is in full sun until mid to late afternoon. And the sun here is intense: 5300' elevation, semi-arid climate with 320 days of sunshine a year. But on the plus side, the spot does have pretty good wind protection, plus the soil is a sandy loam, and I irrigate by flooding about once a week from April to October. Any thoughts as to whether I should do this?

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Comments (2)

myersphcf
17 years ago
Not knowing your area I can not say for sure but I would probably PASS and find a jm that definitly takes full sun in your area ...ask around look around see and research the web for full sun trees that meet your specs...You don't know what you are getting and that is most likely a mistake or at least a gamble David
cacau
17 years ago
Agree with previous post. With attention to watering you will most likely be able to keep it alive without too much trouble, but for it to truly prosper is a different issue. I haven't seen one do well here in full sun.
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