Hi ,
You may want to spring plant that maple . It would be more established to make it through the first winter especially if the plant originated from the west coast . It should do well in VA

Dendo

A few tips:

1.) Plant in a raised bed or mound. Needs excellent drainage.
2.) Do NOT fertilize this plant - ever! Give it a top dressing of compost in the early spring.
3.) Give it shade. Mine is on the North East side of the house where it is protected and only gets a couple of hours of sun a day. I'm in Zone 7, hot humid, so I know you can grow one.

Buy a tree from Eastwoods Nursery. They're in Virginia.

It should not be any more difficult to grow than any other Japanese or Asian maple and desires similar planting and care conditions. And in my climate, it can take quite a bit more sun than you would imagine.

btw, mine is grown in a container and does receive regular fertilization.

Gardengal,

Have you ever lived anywhere other than the PNW? The rub is that things DON'T perform equally as well in other places. Its not just about temperatures, either. The angle of the sun is much more intense here in the South. Where you are, the sun's rays are more oblique in their angle. I was in Seattle 2 weeks ago and it is noticeably so. A lot of things fry to a crisp down here that you can plop down in full sun up there. And then there is that horrible period in the summer where the temps are in the 90s-100s and the humidity is about the same - and it stays that way all day AND night! No relief! We call them the "dog days" of summer. Many plants give up the ghost in these conditions.

Regards,

K4

P.S. The owner of Whitney Gardens gave me the advice on not fertilizing A.s. 'Full Moon'. They've grown some stunning plants for many many years there, so I've taken her advice to heart. Mine is doing well on garden dirt, mulch, and no fert. :)

I've also thought about trying one of these maples but the more I read about them the more particular they seem about moisture, sun and wind.

I'm in Z5 - Michigan btw.

Thanks

Dave