I finally got around taking some pics of my cold frame yesterday. Here it goes. The first pic is of the entire structure. It is made using 1 inch electrical conduits and canopy parts. It is covered in regular 4mil plastic. I doubled the plastic for strength for snow loads. It is held to the frame using spring clamps. On the ground they are held by 4x4 pressure treated lumber or garden lumber. It also keeps the plastic taut. The plastic is in 3 pieces - 2 for the ends and one big that wraps the long sides and the top. I take it down every spring and put it back in fall. It takes about half hour for two of us to do that. This has survived 12 years now. The plastic needs to be changed every 3 years or so. Here is a close up of the door/entrance at the peak. You can see the zipper that ends at the top. The entrance plastic is installed first and held to the frame inside using ropes and tarp clips. The top sheet is put last and held to frame using the spring clamps. To protect the plastic I just fold up old plastic pieces several times and then put the clamps. Here is an inside view with the bed of mulch. Most of the plants are quite young less than 4 years old. There are a few older "mother" plants for taking cuttings. A close up of the peak from inside. Hope that was helpful. As Al said light is not needed so a garage or shed is also a perfect place. I use this mainly for baby plants and some that are marginally hardy like Nandina, some varieties of jasmine, etc. Sometimes when I am not sure, I use this as an insurance against killing a potted plant outside. I also use this to double as early start with veges that are sprouted inside the house and then hardened off in the cold frame. Also note that do not bury ceramic or clay pots. They will crack pretty quick. I am way off the topic of this thread.

I don't know where you got your info Katrina on the Sango Kaku Japanese Maple. The Sango Kaku loves the sun,you don't have to water that often. When I lived in Fl. i grew & sold them for a living. I had 47 Sango Kaku at one time. I would sell them when they were in 7-g for 229.00 & they would all be gone in a week to 2 weeks. Never longer than 2 weeks. I also had Bloodgood Japanese Maples. The Bloodgood does not like to be in full sun all the time. I now live in Greer,S.C. & have lived here for 10 years. I still sell Bloodgood & Sango Kaku Japanese Maples. I have no problem with our cold weather,clay & we have hot summers. I myself have 2 each & put them in the ground when they were in 7-g. The Sango Kaku are close to 9 to 10 feet & the Bloodgoods are8 to 9 ft. I water them in the summer maybe every 10 days. I just pruned my Sango Kaku. Not much. I have seen people ruin many types of Beautiful Acer's & especially Crape Myrtles. They cut all the stems the same length. I cut them different sizes. If not watered to much or not enough you can tell by some simple rules. If planting from a container, loosen the root ball before planting.if the rootball is planted the shape of the container,new roots are not encouraged into the soil. 2if the root system is brown & mushy ,the soil did not get enough oxygen. This is caused from over watering.3do not cover the top of the original rootball or the bottom part of the stem, plant will not get enough oxygen.4if leaves droop or turn yellow or brittle &brown,the plant is not getting enough water. When watering,water deeply & less watering just small amounts.soaking the entire root system encourages the root system to go deeper. Not enough water the roots will grow up searching for water.5 Shriveled bark on stems,is a good sign of over watering. The stem tips can also be brown or black or supple brow leaves . Brittleness is caused from dehydration because the root system gets damaged & cannot send water up to the stems. I have grown different types of Acer's & also spent lots of money on books & plants,seeds & grafted many plants.i hope this helps. I also grow many varieties of Bonsai. Good Luck & Have Fun Gardening,To Me It Is The best Way Of Relaxation. , ,

Hi Laura, Maples in general have delicate leaves that can burn with the summer heat, drying winds, over fertilization, over or underwatering, and salt buildup in the soil. Sometimes even when you do everything properly you will still get leaf burn. Usually though the second flush of leaves are much hardier. Such is the case with my red seedling. The leaves seem tougher this year than I remember last year. It's certainly getting more sun in its new location than last year and it hasn't burned yet. The maples with dissected leaves with the long, thin lobes and double serrations tend to be more delicate than the amoenum and palmatum types and burn more easily. In your case it seems like a combination of summer heat and underwatering. What were the temps like when you first planted a month ago? And what are the temps now? This will give you a good gauge as to watering frequency. I use local temps to *generally* gauge how often I need to water my potted maples. For instance, in the winter when temps are in the low 60s once every seven days is sufficient. Upper 60s I may step it up to every 5-6 days, lower 70s every 4-6 days, upper 70s every 3-4 days, lower 80s every 2-3 days, upper 80s to lower 90s every other day. When the temps at my new place reach the upper 90s and lower 100s I may need to water every day or perhaps even twice a day on some of the potted maples. I would say since it is getting hotter best to stick with twice a week waterings unless the soil is too wet. You're right in that the tree needs less water as there are no leaves to transpire moisture. But remember that even though the tree has no leaves it still has roots that need to stay sufficiently moist and still supply nutrients to the branches and buds. Don't fertilize at this point. I'd recommend applying kelp extract as a soil soak according to the package label directions till fall sets in in your area. Don't worry if the tree doesn't put out new leaves for the remainder of the year. As long as the branches and buds are okay. Then, next spring when the temps starts to rise after the last frost and before bud break start applying a low nitrogen fertilizer with numbers like 1-5-5 along with the kelp extract according to the directions for a soil soak. Layne

I would reinforce the suggestion NOT to amend planting holes. It has long been disproven that this is a beneficial practice and is just asking for trouble when dealing with a heavy, clay soil. And you never want to dig a planting hole deeper than the depth of the rootball as it comes from the nursery, Loosening the soil in the bottom of the planting hole, even when not amending, will result in settling and your new tree will be planted too deep. Which will eventually be the kiss of death. When dealing with a heavy, clay soil, dig a very wide but shallow planting hole - like a big saucer. Rough up the sides so they are not smooth (but not the bottom!). Site your new tree so that the top if the rootball is at least 2-3" above grade (higher won't hurt). Backfill using only the soil you dug out, breaking it up as necessary, and bringing it up in a slight mound so that it just meets (but doesn't cover) the top of the rootball. Add whatever amendments you need or wish to use as a mulch or topdressing over this mound. Lots of plants grow very well in clay - just look at what's growing in the neighborhoods and natural areas around you. Clay soil is much more of an issue for the gardener than it is for the plant, as long as you plant correctly for the soil condition.