Hi!

Yesterday, on my first Mother's day as a new mom, I was given a Bloodgood Japanese Maple by my husband. He purchased it from a Pike's nursery here in Atlanta, GA. The problem is, I am not sure how to take proper care of it. That being said, I am very much enthusiastic about taking care of my new Japanese Maple.

My husband and I are not in a home with a yard at this moment, but we hope to be in a permanent residence by next year. So planting it in the ground is not an option for me. We do have multiple light source options to chose from on our back patio or the front of our house.

I have no choice but to pot the Maple, and the information I have read about what to pot it in is overwhelming. My husband came home with MiracleGro potting soil, but this does NOT seem right to me. From what I can tell, it will need something more appropriate...
Right now, the Georgia heat is just kicking into full gear, and I expect it to get tremendously hot in the coming weeks.

I would be extremely grateful for any information about what I should use to re-pot my new friend. The different ratios of soil/mulch/loam, etc.. are overwhelming to me as a new gardener, so anyone with more experience on what I media I should use to let me Maple thrive would be appreciated. I am more than willing to purchase multiple types of soil, mosses, grit, anything to do this right!

I am also worried that the container my husband purchased will not be appropriate for drainage. It only has a single hole in the bottom. At the same time, I expect very strong heat this summer...

Thank you so very much for your knowledge and expertise,

-An ignorant, but enthusiastic, newcomer.-