Maybe a little neurotic. LOL

Just plant them reasonably soon for best results.

Planting a Tree or Shrub

I say the OP has a good eye what to be on the look out for. If you have no frosts in the 7 day forcast I'd go for it.

This has been an extremely difficult winter for the Northeast and there is still no sign of settled spring weather. I would not plant this October Glory or anything else that has already started to leaf out yet. A late frost has the potential to wipe out the first leaves, leaving only the possibility of a second set later on. In addition, I would want to wait until the soil has warmed somewhat before planting anything. This doesn't necessarily mean not buying the tree you saw. Keep it in its pot so you can bring it inside if serious frost threatens. Waiting until the trees in your area have begun to leaf out is good common sense, not neurotic.

akamainegrower, why "wait until the soil has warmed somewhat before planting anything." This is a very unusual recommendation when it comes to planting trees. Do you really expect to see long-term frozen soil down at root level this time of year? I can't imagine that would be a possibility in NJ at this time.

Highly unlikely to encounter frozen soil at root depth in New Jersey, although very deep snow cover may have delayed soil warming significantly. Even without frozen soil, planting a containerized tree cosseted in a nursery and likely brought from a more southerly source into (relatively) cold, wet soil does present real risk of a setback for plants. Just a few weeks delay in planting would eliminate that risk and there is little to be gained by planting now.

We just had two days of 65 degree temps with rain. The soil is not an issue. The lowest low in the 7 day forecast is 39, so it looks like very low risk of frost.

Only reason I wanted to plant now is because I have a week off. Perhaps I'll try to find a tree somewhere else that hasn't leafed out yet and if I cant, I'll plant this one at the end of the week to delay as much as possible.

if you get a FREEZE ... rather than frost... you might lose all the leaves ... and it will have to rebud ... which might be real hard on a transplant ...

and i dont think i saw size ...

i might leave it in full shade.. to HARDEN off... which no one mentioned.. i dont think ... and i would give it a nother week or two for temps to stabilize ...

and if ig got to late.. i might even hold it for fall planting...

though.. it is a maple ... run it over once with the truck .. borrow one if you must.. then plant it.. and be done with it all ...

always remember.. just because you buy it.. doenst mean its the right time to plant ... thats a usual summer rule for me.. i hold the plants until fall ..

ken

If the garden center offers a good guarantee on the tree, then I don't see any downside to planting it now, other than a little wasted labor on your part.

just because some international corporation schedules its truck deliveries .. all across the US in one fell swoop .. does NOT mean they are doing it for the good of the plant ...

again.. just because you get your dirty little hands on it.. doenst mean its time to plant ...

of course.. that whole warranty thing.. makes it pretty bulletproof.. as to risk ...

ken

Sara nailed it. Keep it sheltered until the threat of frost has passed. They shouldn't have to replace a tree taken by a late frost when the situation was totally avoidable if the buyer had used a little common sense.

But in sheltering it, would OP not be taking away the number-one factor for all plant life-light? I'm not talking about the "light" by which we stumble around in our garages, I'm talking full, outdoor-level light which plants live on.

Too bad you've got this thing which is out of sync with your locale, but it is potted, and potted stock can go into the ground any time the soil is workable. Cold soil notwithstanding, I think I'd just plant it, knowing its tender foliage could be at risk of a late frost or freeze. If it was not yet leafed out, that would change everything. In that case, a cool, relatively moist location, with or better yet, without much for light, could act like the nursery's cooler, holding the plant in suspended animation until planting conditions come around. But with those leaves, I think you've got to plant it.

+om

tom: I have read the "plant any time the soil is workable" advice many times. I really think it is questionable at best. Soil temperatures even slightly below 50 degrees are inimical to root formation. Placing a potted plant into such an environment will bring a halt to any root growth. If the low temperatures last for any length of time, there is real danger that the roots formed in the potted environment will rot away in the cold wet soil. This is especially true of the vulnerable root hairs, the very things you most want to encourage.

Also for some reason I was thinking OP's tree was a Japanese maple and not an OG maple. I change my stance somewhat. If you are at or past your average frost date and no hard freezes are in the 7 day, go ahead and plant it. I was in the same situation as you with some spirea and a Golden Spirit smoketree the end of March here. We had been in a slow steady warm up with no hard frosts (27/28 seems to be the magic line) in the forecast and I planted my stuff. Don't think we ever even hit freezing either. Our average last frost date is early/mid April. However, minor frosts in the 30's won't hurt a red maple.

If you read the published literature, studies show that spring root activity begins at relatively low soil temperatures for most tree species. There are exceptions but soil temps right around 40F (about 4C) are sufficient to encourage new root development. I'd be much less concerned about root and soil issues than I would losing the first flush of foliage to a hard frost.

And there is a huge difference in cold tolerance between a red maple and a Japanese maple, especially one as delicate as 'Fairy Hair'. That's not a valid comparison at all.

Personally, I'd plant the tree as soon as I had the time.

I too thought the OP was talking about a JM.

So then, Mainegrower, you think there's lots of active root growth going on in that pot, and that this will suddenly, and seriously, be halted by placing it into the ground? I don't think either will happen. It will remain more or less in a state of suspended animation until ambient air and soil temps are such as to allow for growth to commence. It's just in storage now, albeit an unfortunate state of storage with foliage. Nothing I or you say will change that fact. But why is cool soil somehow damaging, but a pot out in the open (and cool) air is not a problem for it? There's nothing magically good going on now, while in that pot. And nothing horrible will happen when it's taken out of that pot. At least, nothing that wouldn't have happened anyway.

+oM

gardengal: There is variation from species to species, but studies (Alverez and Korner, "low temperature limits of root growth in deciduous and evergreen temperate tree species", 2007 is one) that indicate no root growth below 6 degrees Celsius with 85% of all growth at temperatures above 9 degrees.

tom: Your ponts are well taken, but the big difference between the pot and the soil has to do with more than just temperature. The sudden change from a well-aerated, fast draining potting mix to soil that combines cold and usually excessive wetness is the problem. While root activity in the pot may have temporarily ceased, i still think waiting until the soil has warmed to 50 or so is more likely to result in a quicker establishment of the tree. The "plant as soon as the soil can be worked" probably applies to most of North America, but ought to be used with caution in Canada and the northern tier states.

I totally agree that in this particular case the leaves are more of an issue than anything else and that planting now will probably not result in any sort of disaster. At the same time, I don't really don't see any reason not to keep it in the pot a while longer. Unless it's just too heavy to move from sun to shade as needed or even indoors to avoid a late freeze, why not wait?

Agreed, the out-of-synchness (that's a really terrible word) of this plant and its environment is the whole issue. Maybe like you're saying, keep it out in the sun but tug back into the garage when cold threatens.

+oM

"I have read the "plant any time the soil is workable" advice many times. I really think it is questionable at best."

I don't think there are many of us out there that would make that statement without caveats. However, in this case, I would feel 110% confident in planting now, with respect to soil temperatures.

Agreed. It's simply a snap judgement, not the end-result of great deliberation. I mostly use that phrase for when folks claim trees/shrubs can only be planted in very narrow windows in the spring and fall, somehow missing the obvious (for me anyway) point that containerized plants are grown that way largely to widen the planting window to encompass most or all of the growing season. True, a 95-degree F day in late July might be a stressful situation for a new transplant, but more generally, there are large chunks of time when potted and B&B stock can be installed. If I'm wrong about that, there's an entire industry that's screwing up badly, lol!

+om

A further agreement with both brandon and tom about this particular tree.

The switch to container growing certainly has widened the planting window, but a number of other factors besides that aim were/are involved. Container growing permits a much higher degree of mechanization and thus dramtically reduces labor costs. Much less land is required than for a B and B operation. Transportation costs are much less than for B and B as well. Customer success and satisfaction is increased. I do remain curious about how much of what is avaiable at the local big box stores and large nurseries in pots is truly container grown and how much was received bare root and put in a pot relatively shortly before going on sale.

Heh, in my earlier days-mid 1970's to be exact-we spent many a day in the big shed "potting up" bare-root stock. Who can forget the "clump birch", lol, consisting, as it did, of three birch whips jammed together into a pot.

One of the oddest things, if you'll pardon my taking one final step down memory lane, was the "pots" we used in those earliest days. A basket was created out of wire fencing material, somewhat like hogwire. Then, we would cut sections of tarpaper roofing, place cuts and seams appropriately so as to be able to fit into that basket. Cripes, it makes me tired just thinking back to all that BS! But yes Maine, you are correct-the emergence of containerized production systems extends to beyond just increasing the size of the planting window. And now, with a gradual turn towards fixing rooting anomalies, we've got the 'Rootmaker' and related systems, which, depending on how well they work, mark a huge improvement in woody plant horticulture.......I think!

+oM