I plant year-round but I'm so in tune with my tree and shrub gardens that it has become natural for me to know when to water. If you're that kind of gardener, chalk it up to experience over limitations.

I live in the hot and humid Illinois, midwest...

Dax

I plant anytime the ground can be worked. Even balled-and-burlapped plant material can be planted now assuming not too many of this season's new roots are damaged (if the rootballs are shrink-wrapped, perfect). A properly mulched area will have soil temps holding fairly steady in the 60s or 70s most areas at this time of year. Just remember the most important thing this time of year is water, and combined with warm soil and a properly prepared soil, you should see good root growth.

As far as the Jap maple is concerned, don't fall into the trap most people do. Most people think they are real sensitive plants that need lots of water. The opposite is true as so many killed shortly after planting are due to overwatering or overmulching. All you need to do is to keep the original root ball from drying out, but don't water if it's already damp. Surrounding soil usually doesn't need irrigation unless the weather has been abnormally dry.

Thank you for the tips! I'll go ahead and plant now...I was thinking of creating a drip irrigation on the plant using a hose with holes in it. I planted Arborvitae this spring and used the same system. I go by the 1" per week watering regimen, does this sound good for the Japanese Maple?

It's hard to recommend a system. I just don't let the plant dry out. You may water everyday at first, but as the roots grow outward you'll notice the root ball staying moister longer.

Humid 80's is okay--maybe not ideal. 90's and above (especially if dry) is probably NOT. Watch it in August and into the fall, if the weather turns arid.

Update: We just got the tree in the ground this afternoon. I have a couple concerns though. The person at the nursery recommended watering everyday for the first week and every other day thereafter. This seemed a bit much to me. The rootball of the tree is 2' x 2'. I planted the crown a few inches above ground and created a basin 3" tall and about 2 feet around the rootball. I filled the basin with water 3 times, letting the water soak in between fillings. Does this seem about right? Should I do this everyday like the nursery advised me? My concern is that if I use the top of the soil as a guage for moisture, it may not be an accurate indication of how much water is getting 2' under.

My other concern is the tree may have experienced some "windstress" on the transport home. Upon the recommendation of the nursery, we watered the leaves before leaving the nursery and again when I got home. Any other after care tips for preventing any damage that may have been caused by the wind?

Also, there are a few dead branches in the tree. Any problems with pruning those off now?

Thanks for sharing all your knowledge & experience!!

Shelli

Prune out the dead branches. Shame on the nursery for not recommending a cover, especially on a Jap maple (my place of employment we offer free burlap to wrap any plant exposed in the wind, usually if the travel distance is over 5 miles and over 45 mph). If you get any damage from the wind, it usually will appear as moisture stress, since that's essentially what it is. From my experience, watering the tree (the roots) before and after transport can help, but unless it's really cloudy and wet will wetting the leaves help. All this doesn't matter if you live close to the nursery.

I would listen to them on irrigation. Light and frequent irrigation has been shown to be better for establishing trees than heavy and infrequent.

Here is a link that might be useful: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/irrigation2.html

Just make sure the rootball get moisture. Sometime the surounding soil drains better and if you don't water the rootball directly it won't get enough water. David