Japanese Maple Color question
daninny
13 years ago
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gardener365
13 years agodaninny
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Japanese Maple question
Comments (10)I have green Japanese Maples close to the foundation of one story house that get direct 10 hour sun or more. They're not under any large tree. The leaves do drop a little during summer heat. But in the fall, they're beautiful deep bright orange. The challenge could be when they're young. Once they're established after 10-20 years, their canopy will shelter the trunk and root. All they need is some latex paint on the trunk to prevent sun burn. I also have one fine leaf bloodgood which is red all year round but doing very poorly. It was planted too close to another J Maple. Japanese maples do not handle root competition too well....See MoreQuestion about Japanese Maple - Ever Red
Comments (3)If you are gardening in California, and a zone 9 designation would seem to indicate that you aren't located in coastal southern California, then most all of the red leafed maples will grow well in northern California if well watered and located out of the wind. The dissected leaf cultivars need even more shelter from full sun and hot drying winds to look their best. If the weeping dissected leaf forms are what you want, be sure you can locate it out of wind, give it sufficient water in summer, and probably best with dappled bright shade or morning sun only if you are away from the immediate coast. The red coloration of foliage is always less red in mid summer, brightest when first leafing out, and again when cold hits and they start to color up. I wouldn't bother planting one if you can't give it ideal conditions, as they will look rather beaten up with dried out leaf tips if they aren't happy with the spot. If you have hot sun and want drought tolerant, you could always substitute with the Purple Smoke Bush, Cotinus coggygria 'Royal Purple', which is probably a better choice for a California garden in any case, because it can survive with much less water in the long term. You might also consider the purple foliaged Willow Leaf Peppermint Tree, Agonis flexuosa 'After Dark', which is evergreen, weeping in form, and has deep purple foliage year round....See MoreJapanese Maple Question
Comments (2)Hello! Here are some answers for you. 1. You should not bring newly potted plants inside now. The best thing would be to buy them at the right time for planting. If you're buying online, you can buy now and request that they ship at the right time for planting in your zone. If you must buy now, you can keep your new plants in an unheated garage until the ground thaws and you can plant them. This is likely in mid-late March. However, if it arrives fully leafed out, then you want to protect a JM until the risk of spring frost is past. 2. Emperor 1 is a very nice red maple. I presume the reason you've got it picked out is the common description that it leafs out a few weeks later than bloodgood, and is superior for avoiding late spring freeze. Either way, it's a nice tree. I'm linking you (below) to the Essence of the Tree website 'Maples for Cold Climates'. Maybe you'll see something else that catches your fancy. :*) 3. You're looking for both good orange color and Z5 hardiness. In general, you can look to japonicums for spectacular fall color. There's one called 'Emmet's Pumpkin' that is a fall orange. You should check them all out. 4. If you're buying a named JM, it has been propagated by grafting. My guess about what you're asking about is that some vendors will refer to very young trees as '1 year grafts' or similar wording, which just means that they're very small and tender, (and less expensive than a 1 gallon plant, which is 2-3 years older). It may look like nothing more than a small twig. If you go for a young graft, you'll have to baby it a long for the first few years. If that's something you'd be interested in, go ahead and ask and we can tell you what extra steps you'll need to take. You probably wouldn't want to plant it out in the landscape right away though. I hope this helps. Here is a link that might be useful: Maples for cold climates...See MoreJapanese Maple Bloodgood, Questions????
Comments (2)First, your 'sprouts' or any seedling grown Japanese maple cannot be a named form like 'Bloodgood'. Named forms can only be propagated asexually, by grafting (most common) or cuttings (much less common and harder to do). Seed grown Japanese maples are just examples of the species, Acer palmatum. Period. These can be very variable in leaf color and shape, sometimes looking very much like the parent tree and othertimes not at all. I can't tell you how much or how often to water but you want the soil to stay just moist - not wet and not too dry. You should have some drainage holes in the bottom of those cups :-) And in zone 8, it is never too cold for Japanese maples unless you are trying to grow babies like these in those cups outdoors over winter. It is best if you have one seedling/sprout per cup........once they reach about 6-8 inches tall, you should repot them in a larger pot with good potting soil. This time next year you can plant in the ground....See MoreToronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
13 years agodaninny
13 years agogardener365
13 years agodaninny
13 years ago
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