Japanese Maples: Japanese Maple seedlings...., 1 by plymouthgarden

plymouthgarden wrote:
We are lucky enough to have a beautiful, mature (35+ yrs) Japanese Maple in our courtyard. It's simply gorgeous right now. The pic below is from last year, but you get the idea!

We also have lots of JM babies in the yard - some are tiny (3-4"), others are 12" and multi-branched. I was wondering what others do for seedlings like this. Leave them where they are? I was thinking that I could create a little Japanese baby nursery bed somewhere in the yard so they could be tended to and watched over. I love Japanese Maples...we've added a few to the yard, and enjoy watching these little ones grow. If I do move them, can I do it now? Should I fertilize them? And what about shade? The seedlings are growing in all different environments - shade, sun, partial, etc. I'm afraid they are going to be plucked as weeds by well-meaning kids (not mine - they know them well!).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Kara