Soil prep for 'Sangu Kaku'

Hi I just bought a 5' Sangu Kaku' japanese maple that is just beautiful and plan to plant it in part shade on the north side of my house. My question is, the soil in that area is fairly dry and contains a lot of clay, what would be the best soil preparation mixture to use when planting this maple? Thanks.

Congrats on your purchase, wish I had good advice, but I just dug a nice big hole and loosened the soil for mine. Others have said it is important to plant at the right height for the roots, and can explain it better than I. The idea is that the crown begins about where the roots start to flare and that should be near the top.

Laura

I live in clay too!

When planting anything with clay it's important to amend and loosen the soil. I dig the out the hole and then add 1/2 Master Start potting soil to the clay and mix well. Then plant as you would plant any other shrub. You'll have to keep an eye on it if it's fairly dry though. If the soil doesn't drain then I'd suggest planting the tree on a slight mound. Fill the hole with water when it's empty and see how long it takes the water to disappear. That will tell you about drainage.

I root water older maples when they are in unirrigated areas but you have to be more careful watering an unestablished tree. Since it's winter, just water it when it needs it and let the soil on top dry out a bit between waterings. Just don't bury the crown of the tree. No soil should be resting on the trunk or you can get crown rot.

There are a lot of theories about amending soil and watering. Whatever you do, don't add sand to the clay. You are most likely to get cement unless you add more than you could imagine. Use organic materials like well rotted compost, etc.

Thanks for the help.

doss, what is root watering?

Laura