My J/M story (pics!)

I decided this year I wanted to get into JMs, regardles of how much (little) room I have for them . . .
I found a guy on a mac message board who had access to voluntary seedlings . . . he agreed to send me some for the price of shipping.
Unfortunately, the price was $17+ for overnight shipping, and it took over a week to get them--
they were so tiny he packed both of them in a vitamin bottle (which I almost discarded as packing looking for the saplings).
Here's a pic not long after I potted them:

I then bit and chewed on one of Michigan Bulb's "great" deals-- a green and red JM for $29.99 (before $20 coupon on $50). As I reported n the trees and shrubs forum they folded the red maple in 3 to fit it in the box:

For a few weeks I nursed the plants indoors-- you can see the wire attempting to correct the folded maple:

Finally set outdoors in a 20" pot-- note new growth, which began indoors (plastic mesh to keep skwirrels from digging):

Close-ups of the saplings-- they both sent out a new set of leaves since they started getting a bit of sun (I kept them in shade for a long time to keep from shocking them):

you have much patience.... great story..... worst packaging I've ever seen a.... fold a tree ;>) remind me NOT to order from them.

Hoa_rd~

You are the most patient gardener.....and the best mom to those poor baby trees! I can NOT believe they shipped it that way...UGH!!!

I have gotten several JMs from a nursery that has over 100 varieties, has great S & H prices and practices (no folded trees, EVER!!!), and very reasonable prices....have you ever ordered thru Forest Farm??? They are quite good for trees, shrubs, and perennials, and the Japanes Maples have always been good, strong specimens, that take off and grow quite well!! :)
ForestFarm is here ( www.forestfarm.com ), have fun looking if nothing else!! :o)

Jamie

Thanks! No room, no room, no room . . . well, it can't hurt to look :-)

http://www.forestfarm.com/search/closeup.asp?PlantID=acpa091
Oh my god look at this-- do you think the color is accurate?

Yes, I am afraid it is....afraid because it means I may have to order one.....

I went thru this website and wrote down names of cultivars I really liked, then took the list and went to a local nursery that has over 100 different JMs, my notes say "Amazing color...almost pink @ tips. Feathery fol, GORGEOUS tree - find a spot!!!!!" :o)

I spent so long at the nursery that day, I think I got caught in a time-warp...LOL

Jamie

does anyone know where i can order fresh bloodgood seeds for fall delivery?
a dealer you may have done business with?

i have a few varieties now and i find it is really addictive....cant buy just one!
i have about a hundred ordered but need alot more.

my house will be full of jrm all winter and spring!!
we have a family nursery so i can enjoy everything while its here..
thanks

Bloodgood seeds . . . may be a good topic for a new thread.
Here's the JM bucket as of this morning:

A little hard to see in this pic (sory it was raining) but the green maple has none nuts and is catching up to the tall red, which has also grown (see relation to dowel). Hard to see but the saplings are becoming sturdy little plants, on their third growth spurt now.
Cooler weather spells seems to kick them in to a growth mode in which they all throw out new sets of leaves at the same time.

Oops, should have been "gone" nuts.
Also of note is that the bent trunk has healed sufficiently to have removed the twist tie holding it to the dowel (it still leans on he dowel a bit so I left it for now . . .)

Hoard you have the patience of Job...I am wanting the JM too...where did you get the little saplings? What a great way to start! I have been following your little story since the beggining to see what was going to transpire ... and it amazing. As long as I have been wanting a maple ...and with very little room for one I could start out like you. I tried two from Spring Hill and they didnt make it. I dont know if it was the tree or me...I think I had them in too much light. be careful of MB..if you wait too long to order from thier catalog all you get is whats left ..a bunch of drek! But let them know immediately and they will make it good!
Sylvia

Thanks, Sedrick.
I got the saplings from a user of a different (non gardeining related) forum who finds them around his property-- he's got a huge JM in front of his house. I believe he gave me two different kinds-- one seems more of a lace-leafed variety, and the other looks pretty much exactly like the "generic" red maple I bought from michigan bulb (I think it's palmatum?).
Wish I had the guts to keep asking him for more :-)

Iunderstand Hoard...you dont want to appear greedy! lol ......and btw all those maples are called Acer Palmatums and they come in different varieties. I ordered a couple of tree saplings from MB too.... one was a spruce...maybe I rushed them too fast...and this Texas heat dont help either. I might try another maple from MB or Jamie's link above and keep it in my bedroom window to nurse it to good health like you...what kind of soil did you use?
Sylvia

Hi Sylvia,
I think I filled the bottom of the container with a bit of leftover leaves, and some fairly depleted dirt that I dug out of my yard a while back, and then the rest with "pro grow".
Probably a little commercial fertilizer between the layers.
Are you saying they sent you a spruce that was supposed to be a JM?

Huge growth spurt.
One pot's waaaay not cuttin' it all of a sudden. Think this is a good time to repot?
Pics from Sat. 9/3.

The babies shown in the very top image of this thread, as of yesterday:
The red--

And the green--

Oh my they are doing beautifully Hoard! I dont think I would mess with success... would not move them yet ...they still have a lot of room. ...then again I am just a novice....you seem to be the expert here. :)
Sylvia

I now have cable internet-- celebrating with my first upload.
Here's that same old tub of maples (taken yesterday evening)

Wow-- it literally took as long to upload that as it normally does just to post a text post without an image on dialup. The future has made it to my side room . . .

Congrats are in order Hoard! I love your garden...it appears you are a city gardener as I am. Is that the same JM you posted on 9/4? Its gotten huge since then! ...thinking about the green I see in MB. ...could use the 20 dollar coupon if I saw something else I like as much. the red one they show is not the one I want.:(
Sylvia

Yeah, city rat here. Got a yard that's about 50x25 feet and a patio that's about 15x25 feet.
It's just the right size in some ways.
Those are the same ones. Growth has really taken off the last few weeks. It's been a bit cooler.
The green on the left, with some red-edged foliage showing, is the green you'll get from MB. It's great to see it growing but it has very little form-- just a bunch of vertical branches right now. The red has one droopy outgrowth leaning towards the green (the brighter red patch).

Tip about MB-- if you order online, once you enter the $20 coupon all the base prices increase!
Come back in with a different browser once you have your total to make sure you're not being suckered.

Hey, check this out-- MB sent me an e-mail yesterday telling me my replacement red maple has been shipped!

You know, looking at the pictures it's really amazing how much it's grown in 10 days.
But check out the first pic-- it's the one on the windowsill!

sure did! ......make you feel really good dont it? my Clemitis replacement s/b here in october.:)
sylvia

Well, I got the replacement red maple today. Fortunately they shipped it UPS. My driver is a real gem; he always leaves things at the neighbor if I'm not home (unlike the post office that never even tells me they tried to make a delivery).

My first impression was that the box was small:

Uh-oh!!!!!

No, they didn't fold it again.


*cringe*


Halves? Thirds? . . . . .


I open the box to discover:

They simply snipped off the portion of the plant that was rude enough to grow too long to fit neatly in this box!!! (and then decided the foliage would make a nice cushion to prevent their promotional literature from bopping around the box and getting ruined).

The plant revealed:

I'm trying to get in the head of someone who would rather mutilate a japanese maple than spend another $1.50 on an appropriate sized mailer. And not succeeding.

I realized the branches were sort of twisted together and freed them up.
It's actually not a bad looking plant as is. I imagine the snipped ends will be unnoticeable some day?

Its a good looking plant anyway Hoard! beautiful! I would call and complain anyway....they might send you another. lol
Sylvia

It's hard for a Japanese Maple not to be beautiful, isn't it?
I wonder if I can keep it indoors over the winter?

I sure would keep it indoor for the winter. you guys have those horrible winters dont you? is it winter there already? :)
Sylvia

Today is possibly the most beautiful, perfect late summer day one could ever wish for.

I wish I could say that here...its hot as [deleted] I cant wait until evening so I can get outside and do something! :)
sylvia

Update October 8/9 weekend. Looking mighty fine.

Another view