Zone four is too cold for Japanese Maples. Your best option is probably to grow it in a pot and then bring it into a protected environment (like a garage or basement) during the winter months. Japanese Maple roots are killed at 14 degrees F. So I would pot it up in a nice pot with good potting soil and good drainage, water it well, and SLOWLY allow it to be exposed to colder temperatures. Eventually you can let the pot freeze completely, as long as its not exposed to extremely cold temps. Later in April, you can bring it out of "cold storage" and it should do just fine. Then next winter bring it in again to protect it from the extremes of your climate. I know a grower in up-state New York who puts all her JMs in a cold storage warehouse for the winter. The pots freeze solid, but they're protected from harsh weather and extreme temps. In the spring she lets them thaw out and they do beautifully after that. Regards, K4

The real question is how long will if be below freezing. It took multiple freezes/frosts and input from others to realize that is the critical point. It can hit 27 for a couple hours and be fine. There is still a mystery as to what the low for me was on Tues night. My therms. said 21 and 23. The official recorded low was 28. Bottom line is that my trees in leaf where subjected to below freezing temps for about 9 hours. 5' Emperor One...black leaves the next day 4' Red dragon...extremely wilted and limp leaves 2' Fireglow...black leaves the next day 7' Katsura...black leaves the next day 6' Sangu Kaku...extremely wilted and limp leaves My shirs haven't leafed out yet...no wonder so many say to stick with this species in zone 5. I've been told "most" decidious trees bounce back. However, Acer palmatum is one that can have more casualties than others.

I live in South Africa, with a temperature of between 61 - 93 Fahrenheit, or between 16 - 33 Celsius for summer. For winter 28 - 72 Fahrenheit, or between -2 - 22 Celsius. This is the second time that I've lost a Japanese Maple the first lack of light or to much water. This time around I planted in a spot that received sun between 11 and 3 o'clock and rest of the day shaded. It began to loose its leaves showing the typical water droplet on leaves burns that has been described on the forums. I addressed the watering from the sprinklers. Later it actively created new leaves, whereas other leaves were scorched basically green/brownish. As discussed before the tree was most-likely under extreme stress and needed saving. Unfortunately I best thought to replant the tree since it was not located in a pot. So I left it in my room with plenty of light then went away a few days. I left instructions for it to be watered twice a week if the soil is dry. Now I came back last night. I found no new sprouting leaves and the trunk is black with some green spots (original bark I presume). I was told the tree was covered with a white pest of some kind, and was thus cleaned with soap water. First question: Is the tree dead? Second: any general suggestions regarding the climate. Since the general solutions posted relates to 1)ensuring that the cultivar can cope with the climate and 2) planting it in positions that gets morning or later afternoon sun, thus filtered sun during noon. The Idea of the cultivar is lovely, I'd like to have some of those trees in the back yard. Provided I can get it growing.

They'll probably be fine, they have the ability to put out another set of leaves. With that said, if it's going to get down that low again, bring them inside. This year will be tough on a lot of trees, as 1.) We had a record warm March, so everything is further along than it should be right now, and 2.) They are forecasting record lows for many areas this coming Saturday. I know some of my Japanese Maples' leaves are wilted and black because of a few cold nights already. I plan on covering them with a frost blanket this weekend to try and prevent any additional damage. We'll see if it helps.