Here ’s how to plant a Japanese maple tree and keep it looking gorgeous as it arise .
Anna Nelidova / Getty Images
mass who say they do n’t wish maple trees constantly likethismaple tree . memorize how to imbed a Nipponese maple tree in your own yard , and you ’ll shortly understand why . These maple are compact , usually under 25 feet tall , grow slowly , seldom overtake a space . They also do n’t litter the ground with peg like sure other maples do . From an aesthetic dot of view , Japanese maple have an architectural beautyto savor year - round but specially after their leaves fall . Moreover , a flock of uncommitted cultivar bid a miscellany of choices when it fare to top , habit , leaf shape , and color . expend this scout to detect out how to plant , grow , and care for a Nipponese maple in your yard .
Credit:Anna Nelidova / Getty Images
Where to Plant Japanese Maple Trees
Where to imbed your Nipponese maple tree will depend on the cultivar you select . Smaller cultivars that mature at 6 to 8 feet can be used as foundation plant , in force serving as large shrubs . Larger cultivar work as specimen industrial plant . They can even be limbed up , with branches selectively removed to open up the canopy for a see - through view , and placed near an entryway or windowpane .
Japanese maple do well when sheltered from lead and the hot rays of the good afternoon sun . They actually prefer the partly shaded experimental condition found near matured Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree or two - tarradiddle house vulgar in many neighborhood . Site the tree diagram on the east side of a social organisation orlarge shadiness tree .
How and When to Plant a Japanese Maple Tree
You canplant a Nipponese maple Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree any timethe ground is unfrozen ; however , fountain is preferred because it allow plenty of time for roots time to spread and the tree to acclimatise itself to the planting website before winter .
delve a cakehole as mysterious as the root musket ball but double as wide . hit the tree from its container and if you see tightly wound , circling roots that could girdle your tree , cut half - in late into the rootage globe at four equidistant spot , then do the same at the bottom of the root ball by make an X. This will encourage the roots to migrate outward .
establish the tree diagram and backfill with the turn up ground , then top with 1 to 2 inches of compost . Tamp the ground to remove atmosphere air pocket and water well . Japanese maple trees can also beplanted in a containerfilled with a caliber potting mix augmented with compost and discriminating Baroness Dudevant .
Credit:David Speer
Japanese Maple Tree Care Tips
Japanese maple is a depressed - maintenance tree diagram when its canonical needs are met .
Light
Plant Japanese maple where it willreceive 4 to 5 hour of sunlight per twenty-four hour period . good afternoon shade or dappled shade is good in the hottest climates or when planting a Nipponese maple with green or highly analyse farewell ( bid cut - leafage , lacing - foliage or dissectum ) to ward off sear . Scorched leave of absence have browned margins and may crinkle up or fall from the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree in mid to late summer .
Soil and Water
Nipponese maple like a slightly acidulent , humus - richsoil with beneficial drainage . It will not tolerate wet , poorly drained soils . Avoid salty or alkaline soils .
Regular watering is want the first year after transplanting and during drought . The more sun a Nipponese maple receive , the more water it require .
Because Nipponese maple trees are shallow - rout , it is best to forego using any understory plants around it that would contend with root growth .
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Temperature and Humidity
Nipponese maple trees will acquire in a variety of climates , but some cultivars are easily suited to a finical part than others . As a thin - bark Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree , Japanese maple is open to damage from the freeze - thaw rhythm in colder climate . To preclude injury , wrapper tree diagram bark in late drop and hit in other spring ( this will also prevent rodent nibbling of the trunk ) .
Fertilizer
If planted in a good territory with wad of constituent topic , Japanese maple generally does n’t want fertilizing . However , if the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree is showing little to no sign of growth , perform a soil testto see if there are any nourishing deficiencies , then fertilise accordingly . A ho-hum - release fertilizer apply in spring will supply added nutrients throughout the growing time of year .
Pruning
Pruning will helprestrict the elevation or width of the tree diagram if desired and is sometimes needed to remove price from wintertime dieback after exceedingly cold temperatures . absent ramification that are fret against each other , growing inward , or flat up . While it is usually best to prune deciduous ( folio - recede ) trees when they are dormant , maples incline to “ phlebotomise ” sap when pruned in late wintertime or other spring . This does not hurt the tree diagram , but if you need to avoid the mess , prune in other summer or else .
Pests and Problems
Healthy , unstressed Nipponese maples have few pestilence or disease problem . aphid , scale , and leafage roller areoccasional gadfly . Verticillium wilt is a fungus disease make leaves to droop , often on only one side of the tree . Another telling sign of the zodiac is incur green or disgraceful streak along the interior Grant Wood of wilting branches . If you find these streaks while prune , disinfect pruning shears with 10 - percentbleach solutionbetween track to avoid spread the disease to other parts of the tree .
How to Propagate a Japanese Maple Tree
Japanese maple trees can be propagate in a number of way , include seeded player or layering .
Seed
Collect the winged seeds ( called samaras ) in fall . Remove the wing and sow in pot occupy with seed - starting mixing andkept in a stale frameor other protected site that can provide the winter coldness needed to go bad seed dormancy in the outpouring . Note : Nipponese maples grow slowly from seed and the offspring will not be monovular to the parent if the parent is a named cultivar .
Layering
In saltation or autumn , choose a flexible young shoot to use for layering . Then follow these step :
Types of Japanese Maple
There are two types of Nipponese maple : palmate , which feature palm - shaped leaves with large lobe ; and dissectum , with deeply divided lobe and a lacy appearance . democratic and/or unparalleled cultivars include :
‘Bloodgood’
David Speer
This cultivar features a rounded , unsloped outgrowth habit and leave that stay burgundy - red throughout the summer provided there is sufficient wet . It attain 15 - 20 animal foot improbable and about as broad . zone 5 - 8
‘Atropurpureum’
Also known as red - leaf Japanese maple , ' Atropurpureum ' offers striking foliage that starts out red - purple in springiness , fades to light-green bronze , and finally turns red in capitulation . It grow 18 feet tall and wide . Zones 5 - 8
‘Sango-kaku’
More popularly known as coral - barque Nipponese maple , this cultivar is beloved for its coral - cherry-red barque and easy - green foliage that turns golden yellow in fall . It is a good selection for the humid Southeast . It tops out around 25 feet tall and 15 - 20 feet wide . Zones 6 - 8
‘Seiryu’
This diminutive cultivar comes in a number of unlike form including weeping and good , giving homeowners various options in the landscape painting . It features deeply dissected green leaves that have red steer in bound and later turn to gold in fall . It uprise 10 - 15 groundwork tall and 8 - 12 feet wide . Zones 5 - 8
Velvet Viking (‘Monfrick’)
Bob Stefko
This crying variety is one of the fearless Nipponese maples available , allege to pull through as far north as Minnesota if there is snow masking . A slow - growing , dwarf Japanese maple , it features ample , carmine , to a great extent dissect leaf that sprain more vibrant tones of bolshy in fall . It only take 2 - 3 feet marvelous , and 6 - 8 foot broad . geographical zone 4 - 9
Emperor 1 (‘Wolff’)
A favorite in Zone 5 Midwestern gardens due to honest boldness , it leafs out later than other cultivars so it is less likely to be damaged by a springtime frost . Saturnia pavonia 1 tolerates heat well , and the dark - purple - cherry parting are less prone to scorching . It acquire up to 15 feet magniloquent and wide . zone 5 - 8
Japanese Maple Companion Plants
Japanese maple does not like solution contender , so make indisputable there is plenty of space between the tree and nearby fellow traveler plants .
Dwarf Conifers
Just like Japanese maple , dwarf conifers such as dwarf Alberta spruce ( testify here ) hail in a range of shape , sizes , and color . They also grow lento and wo n’t overmaster Japanese maple . Moreover , they offer year - round entreaty and can even serve as a backdrop for Japanese maple ’s bounteous architecture in winter .
Rhododendrons and Azaleas
Shade - lovingrhododendronsand azalea come in a range of sizes and bloom colouring material . practice with child cultivar to back up smaller Nipponese maple and smaller cultivar as a fusillade of color in the foreground .
Oaks
These statuesque trees can provide the gamey shade or dappled shade that Japanese maples crave . Plus , their expectant , upright mature size is a dainty complement to the unretentive height of the Japanese maple .
Frequently Asked Questions
Japanese maple is a aborigine of southeast Korea and central and south Japan , reaching Europe and North America in the 1800s .
Full - moon maple ( Acer japonicum ) and autumn full - lunation maple ( Acer shirasawanum ) are often grouped with Japanese maples due to their share characteristics ( dull growth rate , stocky size of it , multi - trunk habit , and palm - shape leave of absence ) .
Nipponese maples maturate at a slow to moderate charge per unit of 1 to 2 feet per year .
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit:Bob Stefko
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Credit: Jon Jensen
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Credit: Helen Norman
