Return to the Japanese Gardens Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
Posted by belbo NE Georgia (My Page) on Thu, Jul 17, 08 at 16:41
| I am wanting to buy some japanese maples to put in my back yard. I have been reading and searching to pick multiple varieties and how to plant them properly. I do not know if my soil is drained well enough. I know certain areas are not and I will avoid them. The other areas seem like they might be ok but are not sandy so I wanted suggestions and to ask if anyone knows how to determine if your soil is well drained enough? I live in NE Georgia. My back yard is about an acre and some is shaded and some is full sun. |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Sun, Jul 20, 08 at 21:08
| What's growing there now? You can read a site's conditions by looking at what is already growing on it - unless, of course it has been stripped of vegetation. |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
| I've had no problems with several varieties of Japanese maples. To check for drainage, dig a hole about a foot deep and fill it with water. I have planted in solid clay where the hole had water after 3 days. If it drains in a few hours that's good. If not, I have ammended a hole 3-4' in diameter with Nature's helper or other organic stuff and planted the tree with about 1/3 of the root ball in the hole and 2/3 sticking out of the ground. Mound good topsoil to the top of the rootball and water in. If your soil does drain OK, I have just planted without ammending and had only 1/3 of the rootball to mound topsoil around. |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
| I live in SoCal near the ocean and our red maple and the variegated maple (green and white) both have crisp edges to the leaves. In other words the leaves look like they are dying back. Our nurseryman looked at it and said its not lack of water. A magnolia in the same soil is doing fine, and blooming like crazy. Both planted last October, put out lovely leaves in the Spring and now this. We have all checked for bugs and find none. I saw maples in a nursery in El Segundo up the coast that looked the same. Those were in pots. Any ideas? |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
| Marge, Even a well tended maple may not be able to keep up with the demand in a windy and sunny spot. In time it may become better acclimated still japanese maples are not like many magnolias that thrive in full sun. |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
| Has anyone had success in growing japanese maples in central Florida? |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
- Posted by babka 9/Sunset 15 (My Page) on
Thu, Sep 4, 08 at 0:59
| It isn't the lack of water, but rather the salts in the water the burn the edges of the leaves. We've grown 9 japanese maples in our northern California yard. Still they are lovely plants, and our grandaughters climb in the larger ones. Here is our Crimson Queen: 
Here are a couple of 30 year old seedlings: 
|
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
- Posted by bboy z8 WA USA (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 27, 08 at 0:39
| Notice how much more interesting and dramatic the above 'Crimson Queen' is trained to grow up and into layers, instead of the low mound it would be otherwise. |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
Marge 727:
You have had a couple of answers as to why your maples are not doing too well.
I don't know why they would have salts, from what source would that be? Unless it is from the wind.
I live right on the ocean front, and I can say that the Japanese maples generally do not like wind, especially salt laden wind directly from the ocean. However, that did not deter me and I have about 30 maples here. Several I grew from seed planted 5 or 6 years ago, so they are just the basic palmatum. They have adapted to the conditions here, as may be expected from a seedling, and are doing fine. The varieties with the finer leaves, such as the laceleaf, or koto-no-ito and so on, are more susceptible to wind scorch. The more solid leaves, for lack of a better word, seem to be able to handle such conditions a little better. |
RE: Planting Japanese Maples
| | |
| If you are unsure about soil and drainage issues - mound the area slightly to keep the roots above the clay. Poor drainage is the number one killer of JMs which turns into root rot and then finally verticillin wilt or another fungal disease. Planting in containers is also a good option. I set container maples in the garden amonst those already in the ground. |
|
|
|
|
