As I sit here I think back 1 to 2 years and remember how Japanese Maples were the craze. Everyone wanted one and the Japanese Forum was ablaze with comments and questions. Now it mostly sits dormant with just a few comments here and there. What happened to those people that got the trees those 2 years? What do they look like now? We were showing them off back then, so proud of our little trees. So I want to show what mine look like 2 years later.
First is Orangeola
Ornida Nikishki is next.
I have 3 more that are a year old.
How about yours. What do they look like now?
Marie, nice idea, and your trees are lovely. I'll get some pictures taken as soon as it stops raining!
This is A.p. ‘Aconitifolium’. Long time readers may recall the two main branches are too close together and I asked for online opinions whether to cut one. In the end, I didn't. If you look closely, you can see a bit of foam wedged between the branches as I try to encourage them to separate. (Probably a lost cause. The first year I tried staking each branch and it helped a little.)
This is A.p. 'Green Cascade'
A.s. Aureum
Yours are still in pots, Oh I was afraid to do that. I put mine in the ground . I still have to move a couple. Their homes are not the best.
In zone 5, you have to do pots or they are likely to die....
Oh, so you bring yours inside in the winter? I must say they do look real nice .Did you get these in that co-op as I did.
I'm in Zone 9 and 80% of mine are in pots but not because of the cold weather. I have mine in pots mostly because I have a small yard and there are not a lot of places that get afternoon shade that are plantable spaces in my yard.
99% of all Jms will do fine planted out in zone 5 especially zone 5 b if planted in the ground, and you don't buy alledged "coop" or ebay twigs .in one gal pots. Small one gallons are dicey to plant out in colder zones and best to keep in a pot for a year ... some folks have luck some don't I never did and they sit and do nothing for 1-2 years while their root systems grow if they don't freeze nover the winter since they are 4-6" deep .... not past hard freeze level even when mulched..
zone 5 b NJ is allot warmer than Maine and it is unlikely you are actually in that zone anyway .. zones have changes allot since the 70's and 80's when that piece of junk usda zone map came out ... The one the govt rejected in 2002 with 20 years of temps computed ( and rejected for no reason at all probably the old "scientists and statisticians felt short shifted) that is on the Arbour day foundation is more up to date .. and they are working on a new one to come out now 40 years later ..so relying on that piece of junk map is a crap shoot at best ... use them in extreme areas only.hot and cold those likely won't change enough to grow Jms in the ground for decades of global warming... in areas like yours you may be and are likely in 6a now... Davidsan
Pretty trees granite. I've pretty much stopped taking photos but I will try to go out and get some. The trees are pretty big except for a new dwarf and four in pots so they are hard to photo.
For some reason, I've always had a difficult time taking good photographs of JMs. There's got to be a secret to it, right?
it is a real trick ... leaves and branches are not easy but doable ... small jms look like small jms usually not much to look at which is actually what they are ... not being full jms they tend to look skimpy ...well thatys how they actually look.. larger trees are easy but it takes time for them to grow most don't have trees the size that take good jpegs ... .. the only way to really take full tree photos of smaller jms is to put a background behind them preferably black or white foam board works ... if the tree is not too big... everyone thinks they are a photographer but very few are ... It takes allot of skill to take full tree jpegs of trees that look like they do in person. and usually some Photoshop work to take out imperfections... and adjust the color properly ... when folks ask me for jpegs of smaller trees I refuse it takes over an hour to shoot and properly portray the tree. I only do it on specimen trees or expensive larger ones .....
So it is several things ... background, size of tree, and time lots of it to do it right ... and if your tree is small and skimpy they will look that way ... thats why most web sites just show leaves .. although not easy to make look like they do in person they can be done although again it takes allot of time ... it's not just point shoot and post.
Davidsan
Thanks for the insight, Davidsan. I suspected it wasn't just me that struggled with that. I really enjoy my JMs while I'm out in the yard, but my snapshots never capture the essence of the tree. Maybe someday I'll get ambitious and set up a background to see if that helps me. It definitely seems like it would provide a good foil for the fine leaves and branches of my smaller trees.
Davidsan, I agree zones are iffy at best, but I've already gotten generous with my zone by calling it 5a--technically, my location is listed at 4b but I haven't seen -30 in many years, so I graduated myself to 5a. I DO see -20 every winter. The first risky tree I tried putting in the ground was the Korean maple I got from you last year. Sadly, it didn't make it. It might not have been the winter, the site might have been too wet or too shady or who knows? With pots, if the tree doesn't seem to be doing well, you can move it to a spot you hope it might like better. Plus, I think the pots help a small tree make more of a statement than it would otherwise, since it gets elevation. This Ap ‘Tamukeyama’ (acquired 2008) is partly tucked behind the rock and would be hidden totally if it were in the ground.
This is my Akita yatsubusa. It is a dwarf that only get about 3 - 4 ft tall. Right now it is about 2 ft and is a year old.
unlerss ypu live in extreme zones water and people over watering kills 99% of all Jms either planting in a wet spot having too much fall rain and freezing or drowning in spring riann ... agaion 95 % of all trees that die do so becauuse of water .(ne of the few things that most every jm professional grower knows is this ).. many others from overwatering and fertilizing trees that are not looking good from being newly acquired or planted transplanted. The Korean Maple Psuedodieboldianum ssp Psieboldianum grows PLANTED OUT in Minneapolis just fine allot colder than you so it was likely not the cold and you had allot od rain for the last year... and normal cold weather .. many palmatums will take -20 no problenm but not a wet -20. Most dolks in nothern borderline area contribute death to cold whereas water is the real killer ... also with Jms most of what you read on line is crapola basically individual experiences in biblical form by know it alls who actually know little... including zone info ... JMs vary from city to city street to street and yards to yard in how well they do... there are virtually no scientific studies on JMs period so what you read even here should be taken with a grin of salt... But I think it is pretty clear that water not cold is the #1 killer of all jms... especially with the twigs many buy to save $$ that habe limited root systems .. and any newly planted jm even a big one that hasd not established itself .. it just drowns..Davidsan
Davidsan, I am sure that happens when we as consumers read that they like moist but not wet feet. So we have a tendency to try and keep them watered thinking that they have to stay wet.
( moist to us). But I had seen them growing in areas around my town that do not stay moist. That is where I got confused when I purchased mine and read how to grow them. So I moved one this spring and it is doing so much better now that it is not in a very moist to wet area.
I only water now if we have not had much rain.
I have had one of my trees for about 15 years. I got it before I knew anything about JMs ( not that I know much now). I have NEVER watered it even during dry summers and the tree has never looked anything but happy and healthy. So I was always puzzled by care instructions that indicate moist soil! Thanks for the info Davidsan.
Songsofjoy.. That is why we come here.. to learn.
I live in south Florida and have a Bloodgood Japanese Maple in a pot (it is 4 feet tall) sitting on my porch that faces east, (my porch has a roof). I was giving it about 1 inch of water every 3 days in the hottest months of the summer, and the leaves turned a dry crispy brown color. So... I'm going to say that my Japanese maple tree needs more "frequent" deep watering.
This message was edited Jun 20, 2011 10:19 PM
yup i would agree
Nothing wrong with watering and pots are differnt than planting out ... and with many pots the roots are root bound shortly and only the top get watered .. the tree pushes out the soil it is all roots water flows out sides and bottom tree recieves almost nothing and. depends on where you are and where it is ... porch or yard .. allot of variables... but keeping it constantly wet is never a good idea or planting in a wet area... your likleyhood of damage or death increases dramatically!! (Davidsan)
