Those are great prices for grafted trees. Thanks for the link.
Karyn

Not just for grafted, but for 2 year trees.
I am torn between my hosta, heuchera and new shrub addictions. There are some amazing, interesting shrubs that have caught my eye. And boy, do I have the space!

I already have 132 (and expecting 2 more) JMs. And oh! I will be able to report 22 varieties that have so far, made it in complete, total, absolute, MEAN full sun without rain. Mostly reds, but good to know for our area!

Christine

Christine,
Thanks for pointing this auction out-of course, I have 2 big plant orders coming from Lazy S & Pam Leder already, but there's always room for more Jms, right? I like all the ones you mentioned & Geisha, too.

I have one tree, a 4 yr. old Green Mist that was planted in the ground that has gone into a sudden decline, with all the leaves wilting & some of the branch ends are blackening. I dug it up & moved it back into a pot, so I could keep a closer eye on it. Any ideas?

And since you mentioned full sun, another question-I have a few trees that get an awful lot of sun (not full sun, all day long, though). They seem to be doing well, but most of them are delicate or variegated varieties-Jiro Shidare, Shigitatsu Sawa, Germaines' Gyration, & Asahi Zuru. The first 3 are in heavy ceramic pots & I'm thinking about moving them under the partial shade of a large maple. But, I'm undecided about moving the Asahi Zuru, it's been in the ground for about a year & seems to be doing fine, should I just leave it, unless I notice it getting frizzled this summer?

Linda, that just happened, rapidly, to my Katsura. I have no idea. I was wondering if I was overwatering, I moved its sun position, I don't know. Sad though, and I hope both recover. :(

One of the very first lessons I learned gardening, was if something is happy, particularly for more than a year, don't move it just because you read somewhere that it "should" be in another environment.

It is my plan, that if anything in the sun begins to show leaf burn, I'm going to shade it. Not move it and disturb their root systems during a hot, high stress time. If I move it, it would be in the fall after they lose their leaves.

Remember, I'm doing this by trial and error, too. :)

You want that 'Octopus'? I'm thinking I might get rid of my 'Butterfly', too. It's also full sun and 4 years old. About 2' tall and just beginning to weep.

Why don't you call Meadows Farms or Merrifield's tree person and ask? I'm going to try Homestead, but I don't like the tree guy. We'll see what they say.

Christine

Well, I'm going to take my tree in to work tomorrow, I'm sure someone will know what's wrong with it. I've already decided on Alpenweiss & Shigure Bato, out of Geisha, Johin, Kawaii, & Kinkie Krinkle (assuming you didn't have any of them) which one would you leave out?

[ahem, looking a little sheepish]

I'm not sure I would leave out any of them. I do have them all.
Perhaps Glowing Embers, simply because I have 21 of that type. The problem is that their fall colors are all different. The spring and summer they're clones. Come fall...!

I have a Geisha. What an amazing tree. Dark shrimp colored foliage all year. It doesn't get bigger than 3' and look like a little umbrella tree. I love this.

However, I'm thinking I'm going to get rid of the light green, pink-edged trees. I'm bored with them. Did I say that?!? Oh, my.

Tell me what they say at work? I'm sad at my Katsura biting the dust. Oh, just between you, me and the world? I'm giving up on a Dissectum Nigrum, too. As much as I love it? I've had two fail. You don't need to hit me on the head a 3rd time!

C.

Christine, I blame you.* Without you, it never would have occurred to me that I could find JMs on eBay. Now of course, I've already bought one and am bidding on an a. shirasawanum 'Aureum.'

Just what I need - another plant fetish!

*Just kidding, you know. I'm looking forward to getting my new little Osakazuki.

I took the potted up 'Green Mist' into work for a diagnosis & the consensus was 'this tree is toast'. Everyone asked about where it was planted, when, watering, cold spells...asked if I had looked at the roots, could be voles, but it was definitely vascular. I've pruned off all the black tips, but there is a black band on the trunk, right near the graft. Tomorrow, I'll repot it & look at the roots, but everyone at work thinks it's a goner...

So, to cheer myself back up, I purchased 4 of those trees from John Herter-Kawaii, Geisha, Shigure Bato, & I asked for a Purple Ghost, since it was a $20 buy it now in another listing.

I know it's not the best time to do this, but I'd like to pot up the small 1 yr. grafts I have (4" pots, some are tall, but several are short). I'm thinking about using a mix of 1/3 ltwt. potting soil (peat & vermiculite), 1/3 pine fines, & 1/3 permatill/Voleblock. What do you think?, w/ these small pots, it seems like it's hard to keep them evenly watered.

I've decide to move the Shigitatsu Sawa under the shade of the tree, but since the other 2 look fine, I'l leave them. All of my trees are looking so gorgeous right now, it's a pleasure to sit outside in the evening....Linda

I tend to overpot the plants I am planting in the garden. (Although I am not a fussy about the soil I put in the pot. I usually use generic potting soil with food and water crystals.) That way you don't have to attend to them every other day.

I also tend to leave a lot of lip (maybe 1-2 inches) above the soil level, as a pest prevention measure.

I have lost my share of potted plants, but my thinking is what is the downside of putting a small plant in a 1 gallon pot?

Philip, as I mentioned, the downside is that they'll fill it in with roots before putting out new growth above ground. That's why you go 1'' bigger when you repot.

Leslie? My job is done. [GG] Too good to be true.

Linda, I'm sorry about the toast. I don't have black bands or tips, but I have just wilted, dead leaves. I'm bummed. Everything seems to be doing so well, then this Katsura gave up the ghost.

Congrats on your good buy. John is a good guy and gives good advice. I think your potting ideas sound good. I bought some of his JM fertilizer, (which I've forgotten to use) that he uses. Should be good.

C.

In fairness, you might agree, that that downside (of first root growth with delayed top growth) must be counterbalanced against the downside of the effects of swings in moisture and temperature that smaller pots would subject them to. A 4" pot dries out very regularly, which cannot be good.

If one is diligent, I can see that one would probably get faster growth by going up slowly in pot size. The tradeoff being greater risk that the plant will risk drying out or broiling if the heat is too high. Fair enough.

Philip,
I don't suffer from dried out pots because I bury them. This helps maintain the moisture levels.

I'm not putting min in pots on the porch, so perhaps that's why I do have really good luck?

Christine

Ok, so today?
I decided I have nothing to lose today. I have 3 trees that are crapping out.
I cut off the brown parts, and cut off the black parts.
There are bendy areas I'm hoping will take over.
I'm not optimistic, but what the heck?

C.

I'm tempted to hit my 'Green Mist' w/ the Bayer 3-in 1, since it already looks dead, what can it hurt? I think it is verticillum wilt, everyone who has looked at it has said it's dead, throw it away. I explained I only throw away dead plants (that is, $50+), after they've been in a pot, looking dead, for 6 months :)

I did get in alot of new, small JMs this week to ease my pain. I'm going to pot them up & remain optimistic...

Christine: Advice please.

Osakazuki arrives, well packed, healthy and a bit bigger than I really expected. It's a beautiful little tree. My question is that the graft looks a little raw and I'm wondering if there's anything I need to do to protect it. Does it eventually heal over?

Congrats on your new JM. I also have this variety and it offers 3 seasons' worth of interest. Yeah!

Raw, though? That would be unusual. Does it have that red, flimsy looking tape on it? May I ask from whom you bought it?

Yes, of course it'll heal over, but "raw" would be a worry. The area where the graft connection occurs is sealed by the edges of the two trees. What sticks out is usually a piece of the root stock, which you don't have to worry about. Would that perhaps be what you're seeing?

I suggest with any young tree, that if you stake it NOT to pull on the new tree just above the graft. Tie it up higher, with loose tape so it doesn't break the healing seal, which would definately make it raw!

C.

I got it from one of the sellers you recommenced - might have been John Herter ("acer" with some numbers). It is still in the pot it came in, resting quietly in the shade and doing fine. It doesn't need staking for the moment as it is perfectly upright and graceful.

I will look more closely at the graft. There's no tape on it, but the two pieces of tree - rootstock and scion - were clearly visible when I peeled off the packaging and I was sort of expecting to see bark knitting itself shut over the two pieces. Will look again and report back Tuesday!

Good.
Many of mine kind of look like that. As they sit in my garden, it kind of softens so it's not so discernable. As a matter of fact, sometimes I have to make certain I'm removing root stock leaves, vs. getting into the scion!

Let me know?
C.

I am a collector who has bought has bought over a 1000 japanese maple trees over the last few years and several of them have been from Jherter and as I have seen them grow(several have died) many of them are far from the true cultivar. One of the only quality sellers on the internet is Eastfork nursery in La Center, Washington. Their trees come from the best grower. It is always nice to have a great japanese maple tree but to do so you need to start with a quality tree. As it goes there are only a handful of growers in the country who sell quality japanese maple trees. Most of them do not sell to the general public, yes, you find the best trees at the nursery.
Charlie
Amazingmaples,
a collection of japanese maple trees