WooHoo! Just Got my first 2 Japanese Maples! (online) I got a 'Katsura' and a 'Kamagata'... I plan to grow them in pots (in Al's Gritty Mix, of course). I'll probably (eventually) put the Katsura in the yard and get an additional one, two, or maybe even forty seven! I'm going to get a 7 foot 'Kinran' from my local nursery to replace the 2 White Mulberry Monstrosities that I'm cutting down. I had a regular maple that was in a spot that got too much water, grew too fast (making the wood weak), snapped in half in a thunderstorm and fell on my house, tearing up the 2 week old shingles that I had put on! I swore I would never have a maple OF ANY KIND in my yard. Now I'm addicted to JM's and talking about getting another 47! Life, it seems, is not without a sense of irony! (credit: Morpheus, of The Matrix) Any tips/advice would be appreciated! Spaceman

Dear armygrdnr, This is just the "annoying novice" on duty here, as many will be able to testify. I myself am still learning and currently driving the experts insane with questions. That being said, here are my 2 cents, as little as they are worth. I started this AV thing this year in March and have been through what you are going now. Some problems you are probably experiencing as a beginer: 1. First, your plant is probably starting to show the transplant shock. Now, when you say a few weeks...what does "few" mean? Two or 7? 2. The pot is almost surely too large. 3. You need to learn exactly what the experts mean when they say "keep the soil moist but not soggy/wet". You need to touch soil that is "moist yet not wet" so you can experience how it actually feels like. You can do this at your local nursery. A few months ago I THOUGHT I understood what that meant, but later it turned out I didn't. This is crucial - otherwise you will not be able to avoid a root rot episode, just like I wasn't. Water from the bottom a few times and wait until the top soil feels "clearly no longer dry"...just so you will be able to recognize what "moist" means and how your soil needs to feel when when you water from the top. When you do so, you absolutely need to stop when you see the first drops of water coming out at the other end. Ar first, I continued to soak the plant even after seeing the first drops coming out...thinking that I needed to make sure ALL soil was evenly covered. AV pots are usually so small that a little water will quickly spread over the entire surface of the potting mix and will sink in evenly anyway. I have added my modest 2 cents because sometimes the experts are so good that they take for granted skills that became second nature to them long time ago; in other words they no longer realize how BAD us beginner can actually be. :-)) People here though will be able to give you much more in depth advice. Some of them are downright fantastic and their stands can make you green with envy. It won't get its way though (the envy, I mean) because these folks are so sweet and helpful you won't be able to get your jealousy going. :-)

Just a quick update! The scale has not gotten worse, I've picked off all the ones that are big enough too and I'm assuming the rest are dead and will fall off in time. I only sprayed it once so I guess the only question I have left is if it should be sprayed again eventually to really prevent the problem from coming back again as I've read that it's very hard to COMPLETELY rid the plant of scale. I'd say it's doing very well as far as that goes though! =) The big update though is there seem to have been a bit of changes today! The new growth that I posted a picture of earlier is even bigger and looks great, though it is still very small haha. Also I've noticed what looks like new growth around all of the places where my leaves meet branches. They're very small right now however many of them I've noticed a purple-ish color to them! Which I'm guessing means my tree may do some flowering soon!!! Hopefully very soon this will make my study room smell fantastic =) either that or I've heard just new growth can start out with a purple-ish color to it in which case my tree will just be growing more and will be able to flower/fruit more in the future! Thanks Mike and John for the help and also calming me down =) I'm sure if I didn't have some help and advice from you guys I would have "cared" the tree to death! I'll probably post some pictures soon! =) I'm very excited!

That was a good review. Funny how he said it was not that hot. I bet it is, but he probably eats hot peppers like candy, so for him, not that hot. For others... hot.