Pricing depends on kind and other variables. A 10 year old specimen could be a fairly substantial investment, even "expensive" depending on how much you want to pay for a tree. Many are thinking in terms of peanuts even though they are shopping for trees and shrubs. A hot spot could be a problem, depending on where you are and what other characteristics the planting site has.

For instance, I saw some very beautiful, five gallon for $300-$350 at Wells-Medina, again, not known for its cheap prices; however, they look so healthy and the root system looked good,too.

I saw a different Japanese Maple ,same size, for a third of the price,but the rootball was way too big for the pot, seems to have been recently potted up(different nursery).

Just want to know where to get a tree that has the best chances and if I'm gonna pay 300bucks, how do I know it's not going to croak in a year??:)

I love trees, but am limited to containers for now(renting), but I *have* to plant a few trees, can't live without some of my own.
teeka

Much like hostas, the price will depend a great deal on variety. Unique, very slow growing or dwarf forms will demand a much higher price tag than those that are more common or grow more rapidly and larger sizes can often be almost logarithmically more expensive than smaller - you are paying for age and the care and effort the grower has expended to get it to that age and size :-)

Wells-Medina has a great selection of JM's and quality stock, as does Emery's in Lynnwood. A visit to either and discussions with their staff should offer you a variety of decent sized maples that are suitable for containers and will not break the bank. Or you can go the budget route and take what's available at the local box store. May not be anywhere near the same quality or the selection but minimal financial risk if it doesn't survive.

While many Japanese maples make excellent container plants, they do need more care than those growing in the ground - proper potting mix, good sized container, frequent watering and fertilization and periodic root pruning.

Hey there -

My design-build firm always deals with Charles at Amazing Maples. www.amazingmaples.net He lives up in Mukilteo and runs a Japanese Maple nursery at his home. I'm sure you can just go and pick one up but every time I've worked with him he has delivered, consulted, and done after care. All he does is maples so he is very knowledgeable and I think he is also a landscape architect by day...but not sure.

I bought a couple of Ghost series JM's in small just-grafted 4" pots, cheap, 4 years ago. Amber has grown to 4' but Purple is still only 30". They are pretty colors. I googled Ghost Japanese maples and second hit is a nursery with many photos and first-year grafted plants, but I haven't bought anything from them. It might be a useful site to compare Maples. There is also a GW maple forum that might be helpful.