My New Japanese Red Maple
Ellie RK
8 years ago
My landscaper planted it last week but I don't know the variety. He said it would grow to about 15-20 feet.
It's stunning, the color is just beautiful.
Do I need to put deer fencing around it though? Lots of deer here....
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my new japanese red maple bonsai
Comments (1)Hi - Absolutely the first thing you need to do is get it outdoors - for life - because it won't last a week inside. But put it in light shade vs full sun and somewhere that it won't get rained on beyond a light mist because until it's switched into proper bonsai 'grit' (fast draining stuff - more on it later) it'll drown in that goop it's in. Maples need to get dry almost all the way through the pot between waterings but it looks like yours is in potting soil - which is full of peat and acts like a one-way sponge (soaks it up but won't let it go and then roots rot). Your tree, in fact, will do light years better, and grow much faster - giving you lots more styling options for the future - if you plant it into the ground for 3 yrs. Sounds drastic to a newbie, but what you have now is not a bonsai but a stick in a pot. You want the trunk to thicken up and eventually you'll lop off the whole top half of the tree (not this year) and new smaller branches will grow in which, together with the fatter trunk will give the illusion of an old tree. There's a lot more to it, and you need to find out about the mix it should be in (but do NOT repot now as it's not at all a good time of year, so you'll have to be careful about watering - enough when you do do it, but only when it's needed (and water-loggedness can look just like dryness when leaves curl if you've already given it too much). Go to bonsai4me.com and start reading there plus most of the forums on bonsaisite.com for better input (more people)....See MoreJapanese maple under red maple?
Comments (8)I don't think you have to move right to questioning his competence. I would check first what assumptions each of you is operating under. If you have given him instructions to produce a certain kind of environment in the yard, shade may be an essential part of that and perhaps he can't produce any other source of shade in the short term and is concerned you'll not be happy with the outcome if there isn't enough shade. Or something. He may also be making some assumptions about how much you want to water your plants. I de-shaded the north side of my house with the removal of a tree and it does get sunny as the sun veers around in the afternoon. New trees are just growing in enough to make an impact 4 years later. If there is a chance you will be removing the big tree at some point within 5 years, the pot is a very good idea for another reason - you'll have to get the little maple out of the way of falling tree parts. They do grow well in pots, especially if the pots are big enough. KarinL...See Morejapanese maple under red maple?
Comments (2)Just so happens I have a Bloodgood Japanese maple under a canopy of a Sugar Maple and a Red Maple. However, I can probably get away with this as my precip tends to be heavy 50-60 inches annually. In your drier climate, I think there would be excessive competition for moisture--Japanese Maples do NOT like drought. Good luck with your Japanese Maple. PS., Despite having lots of exotic plants, that tree always gets all the attention!...See MoreWhy is my Japanese Maple green… I’m new at this
Comments (9)Could be a couple of reasons: they have been mistagged they could be seedling grown and therefore not clones of the parent tree (fairly sure this not the case as I can see graft unions on at least 3 of them pretty clearly) they have been raised in a lot of shade and so have not developed their true color. Any red pigmentation (anthocyanins) are developed and enhanced by sunlight. Too much shade will typically leave them green or let the chlorophyll predominate. I suspect the last is most likely the case.......combined with them having been shipped from a warmer zone (??) and so not yet showing any signs of fall color/dormancy. ETA: If true to name, a red leafed JM will have red leaves all season long. They may be different colorations of red or purple or copper or even pink, depending on the cultivar and the season but they are rarely ever fully green unless deprived of sunlight. Of the 4 cultivars the OP acquired, 3 of them should never show green foliage unless grown in full shade. Brocade is one of a handful of JM's that sort of splits the difference between green foliage and red....in more sun, the red will be more pronounced but the foliage will always have a greenish, bronzy tint to it as well....See More
CEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years agoEllie RK
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
jalcon
8 years ago
Mike McGarvey
8 years agoLook what happened to one of my seed origin Japanese maples. Last year a buck turned it into a walking stick. I left it and it sprouted from the base. Then the deer came back and nibbled the new growth. At least this is in one of the more undeveloped areas of the garden.
Mike
Ellie RK thanked Mike McGarveyEllie RK
8 years agolast modified: 8 years agoMike McGarvey
8 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years agoMike McGarvey
8 years agoCEFreeman_GW DC/MD Burbs 7b/8a
8 years ago
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