Why anyone felt it was necessary to resurrect and add on to an inactive 12 year old thread is a bit strange........but let me just add this comment. Japanese maples produce shallow and extremely sensitive root systems that resent any sort of disturbance. In fact, it is extremely easy to introduce often fatal disease issues by damaging these roots. So whatever one chooses to underplant their JMs with, it should be something that can be left undisturbed and with non-invasive roots. No annuals that require yearly replacement or perennials that will need frequent division. Smaller, non-suckering shrubs are fine but should be planted simultaneous to the maple. Or any low growing, shallow rooted groundcover.

CEF, Molly is adorable! I want to kiss her snout. She sounds like quite the little rascal. Love it. You definitely are a busy one, I am so impressed with all this building of things. Are you self-taught? I wish I knew how to do some of that. Kitchen cabinets! Awesome. Our kitchen is original (not a good thing, 1973) and I'd love new cabinets. Reworked, recycled, whatever! Just different, pretty and CLEAN. I planned to paint ours when we moved in last year-- bought all the supplies, watched some videos... just never did it. I underestimated how long EVERYTHING would take. Every room had wallpaper and I figured I'd take a weekend or two before we moved our stuff in and get that out quick. HA!! It took 2 months, just to get it all down. And half the walls still have spackle. It's been 13 months and we have two rooms done. Two! Whatever. I'll get to it. I am a hairstylist and only work Fridays and Saturdays (til the kids are both in school anyway) so it's difficult to take time off. I do it now and then though and if I'd known about this plant swap sooner, I probably would have. Is there a website I can bookmark so I will know early next year? Our rancher is brick. I'll post a pic of it when we bought it, with the row of yews. I couldn't wait to get them out but now that they are finally, I'm a little overwhelmed at how much work it is to get that area in order, long before plants will even be concerned. Right now the dirt is all turned over and weeds are everywhere-- I pulled up all that I could see last week (almost a full day of weeding!) and then we had that crazy rain and few days later, weeds everywhere again. I posted about it on the soil forum but nobody responded so today I went out there with my pump sprayer full of vinegar and covered every square inch. I know that can kill the stuff I want as well but there's nothing out there but weeds so I figured I'd give it a go. Edge out a bigger bed tomorrow with my new edger (SO EXCITED) and then maybe mix in some topsoil and turn it over before mulching. I may not plant anything this year after all. Use containers so I can make sure the soil is good first, move things around for a bit til I get a feel. Who knows. I want to paint the shutters too, not liking this green. Medium-darkish taupe maybe? With just a hint of green/blue? Leaning more toward the brown, less the grey. I'm off to research fertilizers for my new maple, and perhaps my Mikawa Yatsubusa, if it's not dead yet. I know Al has some good stuff on here about it, found another member recommending him when I was google searching a few minutes ago ; ) oh and p.s.- you mentioned liking the weathered look, have you considered making raised beds out of pallets? Saw something on pinterest about that and it looked great, plus they are usually free somewhere.

Still no buds/activity on the laceleaf maple, which was bought at a real nursury and was looking great in the fall after I put it in. I'm holding out hope but it is almost May and I'm surprised there are still no buds. Other maples in my yard and sidewalk out front are doing great. The sugar maples along our street rapidly bloomed this week. My bloodgood maple is fully leafed out, which tells me it is pretty hearty, considering I moved it 3 times since I bought it at Home Depot last year. It is only 3 feet tall though, so I suppose moving it didn't hurt it as much as a big tree, plus I didn't take apart the root ball any of the moves, esp. the last one, when my hardscape contractor moved it with his Bobcat machine. Anyone else in zone 7a have laceleaf maples that are not blooming yet? I hope this sucker isn't dead.

I just listened to a talk from Frank Byles an international authority on Japanese maples. He owned a nursery in Olympia Washington that dealt with mostly Japanese maples, has donated hundred of these plants to local universities and college gardens, such as the UW Washington Park Arboretum. His late father-in-law, Howard Hughes, (not the billionaire) owned a Japanese nursery in Montesano Washington where he sold his plants via a catalog through out the world in the 1950's, even creating several cultivars of it. Frank said pretty much what gardengal48 said. He did say remove all dead branches at the point of origin. Also that second picture he would have said remove all crossing branches that are rubbing, That can cause a point of disease entrance. Now would be a good time to do trimming.