As long as you plant it in something that has good free-draining soil, it should do fine. There are some varieties that might need a bit more sun to maintain a darker red color but other than that, these types of trees seem to thrive at the edge of the "understory", which a covered balcony can often mimic. Do check the hardiness of whatever you would get as some are more tender if placed in a container and not protected during harsher winters.

Hi Chris, In my Z5 garden I unfortunately have to deal with split japanese maples fairly regularly. We try to bang all the snow off them but sometimes it's just so much the damage has already been done. I have found that repairs can be made and the limbs can survive. The first year I found branches nearly ripped off the maples, I had no idea how long they had been like that. We had about 4 feet of snow on the ground and it wasn't until all the melting that I saw the damage. I really thought they were a lost cause because they didn't get repaired immediately, but we tried a fix anyway. You almost go into mourning when you see great trees damaged by mother nature. What you have done will hopefully work. As long as the split was matched up exactly, and it is as tight as possible (which it sounds like it is). What I have done in the past is find one of those rubber sink mats and large hose clamps. I first wrap the area with the rubber mat (cut into whatever size necessary) and then tighten the hose clamp around it. I will also use a bungee cord from the lower area that has been split to an upper branch. It usually takes two of us to make sure it is as tight as possible. It's not exactly pretty, but it has worked on a few of my trees multiple times. BUT, you have to be very careful as this season progresses with the new growth. I like using the hose clamps because you can loosen them as the tree is growing. I still have one on from a couple years ago that I just keep loosening slightly as the tree grows. I know that area is still weaker and it was such a bad rip (for the 2nd time) that I haven't been brave enough to take off the clamp yet. Excuse the awful yellow cast in this photo...but the 'Viridis' japanese maple in the middle of the photo was repaired using that method a few years ago. It was the lower-left branch that was nearly ripped off the tree and it appears to be doing OK. I am still waiting to see if after many more years this branch, or the tree finally give up the ghost. I hope the tree has recovered, but I agree with Gardengal that this is a tough thing for a tree to recover from. All you can do is try and hope for the best. I do not kid myself that this tree may last 50 years with this kind of damage, but there's always hope!! I find it amazing that I was able to "fix" this tree as well as others in my yard that had issues due to snow damage, yet a band of hungry voles took out one of my other large japanese maples. Those little buggers! It was to the left of the maple in question in this picture and really balanced out that border of maples. I opted to not replace it with a japanese maple. I think I'm learning my lesson to not plant japanese maples in my snowy environment. :o) Good luck! Susan

will try for pix tomorrow --in meantime, just heavy snows, which we've had before. no temp records. tree was planted to overhang small pond that was installed before we bought house. pond was cemented in, but cement developed several cracks. had pond refitted last year, so that about 1/3 of root system is no longer getting water -- getting plenty of water from remaining 2/3. plenty of leaves on branches and twigs overhanging pond. other change in microclimate was large branch from overhanging tree fell last winter. red maple now getting more sun.

1. Yes, this is true. It is also true that some red leaved cultivars will 'bronze' out in too much sun. Ideally, you will want to site just about any Japanese maple with morning sun/afternoon shade or filtered or dapped all day shade. All red leaved JM's will develop the best leaf color if they get at least a few hours of direct sunlight. 2. I would trust ONLY plants from known reputable growers and retailers of Japanese maples. And even then, there can be tagging or ID errors. Box stores buy in bulk from whatever vendor offers them the best deals. These are not always the most scrupulous of growers and have been known to sell seedling JM's by cultivar names - a HUGE no-no! Box stores also tend to have only the most common cultivars whereas independent garden centers that specialize in JM's will offer a very wide and high quality selection. It is a bit of a case of you get what you pay for :-)) 3. No. Trunk color has little to nothing to do with foliage color. btw, 'Tamukeyama' IS a cultivar. There is just one with that name and ALL Tamukeyama's should look the same.