Japanese Maple in Zone 5A Chicago area

Hi,
I would so love to get a Japanese Maple in my yard. I am thinking of Emerald lace. Seems to get a hardier rating and am looking for a small weeping type. Has anyone had luck in the Chicago area? If yes please let me know what types you have. Also would it be best to plant in fall or spring?
Thanks for any help,
Jill

When you say Chicago area...thats large...and variable with many micro climates as I understand it ... There are folks at the garden web from that area that have had luck with many varieties due I believe to their micro climats but they will never admit that thinking they are JM "svenjollies" ( Seinfeld joke)...but if I were yiou I would stick with a more cold hardy variety for my first one .. If you want a dissectum go with Tamukuyama...if you want an upright go with Fire Glow or Emperor one or Red baron ( if you can find one) ...it is my hardiest tree by far...or Bloodgood if you want a upright larger tree... There are many other varieties that "may" do well up there too...Emerald Lace is "ok"...mine made it through the last two winters and the freeze OK...but not perfect. It is pretty . the basis of any tree growing in zone 5 is protection from the elements summer and winter ... morn sun and afternoon shade pleanty of mulch and protection from west and north winter winds and of course a cage in winter to keep the critters out if you live in a critter friendly area.
OH I would wait til spring ...my fall planting experience has NOT been good ...JM's seem to like a full growing season in the ground before our cold winters ... You might also want to cosider a container culture which then you can plant just about any JM but it is much more work...David

Thank you David,
I will check out your suggestions, and wait until spring to decide, you are right about fall planting, nothing I have ever planted in fall makes it. I am 30 miles from the lake, a suburb, northwest of Chicago. I don't think we have any micro climate here-LOL with the strong wind in winter. I did plant a Bloodgood years ago and it failed, might have been the location or perhaps it was planted in fall. Pretty much soured me on trying again for a long time, well I'll have the long winter to think about it.
Thanks again, Jill

Oh one more thing ...even though it will cost ya more go with a larger tree with a more developed root system ..it will hacve a muich better chance of survival. Your Bloodgood could have died for many reasons especially if it was a smaller tree...it may NOT have been due to or "solely" due to the weather out of curiosity did it just not leaf out the next spring or die otherwise. David

It never leafed out and looked quite dead, we returned it to the nursery and did get 1/2 back on it. It wasn't a big tree, in a 2 or 3 gallon pot if I remember right.
I will go for a bigger one tis this time. Some of the nurseries will quarantee a big tree if they plant it, costly but you have no risk.
off to work ..talk to you when I get home.
Jill

Just a couple more notes...Do NOT plant in the same spot nearby ok but if it was diseased that could have spread to the soil or something originally in the soil and you don't want to repeat your loss.
A two - three gal should heve been big enough but it really repends on how vigirous the root system was ...it could have been in a large pot and still been not big enough. If I were a bettin man I'd say fall planting and the winter ...but it could have been any # of causes...but you probably had NO idea it was susectable to winter kill or in any way had to be babied which even a Bloodgood not in an opportune spot really needs that extra special attention including a heavy mulch about 6" from the trunk.
BTW another reason I don't like fall planting is not only for root deveopement and acclimation to your area ...but also some Jm's will put on a bunch of aggressive growth late a late blush so to speak especially if you have a warm fall ...and then BAM it's hit with a killing frost or freeze. Ideally you want you tree to go dormant in fall and change color and drop leaves like other disiduous trees at as simialr time. Now planting in spring will not necessarily stop this but the damage will be more likely to the growing tips of the branches not such a shock to the whole "newly planted" tree ...anyway that is my "by experience" non scientific theory for whatever thats worth ..
This of course goes against "CURRENT"conventional wisdom put forth by many who feel FALL is the best time to plant trees and many plants although but i think this is a fairly recent developement promoted by nuserys to boost sales...but I also belive it is TRUE and a good developement for whatevwer the nefarious reasons ;>)... I had not seen much promotion of fall planting til the last few years except with stuff like peony's and bulbs...but I do feel in borderline areas and with NOT totally hardy trees I think it is NOT advisable.
David

This message was edited Aug 16, 2007 4:19 PM

Thank You David..
I agree totally!
Jill

Jill,
I have an Acer palmatum Robinson's Red that I purchased from Girard's Nursery, in Ohio. Robinson's Red is a seed-grown plant (and that's why there are no single quotes around the name.) I have had my Robinson's Red in the ground since 2003 with no damage from -25°F temps. I paid 10.00 for a one-gallon sized plant. I checked the Girard's website and don't see this specific plant listed, but there is a red-leaved Acer palmatum listed. You may want to send them an email and ask about it as it could be the same plant.
Good luck,
Mike

Unfortunately your "experiment is not a true given . Seed grown trees are not a specific cultivar ...it may be called a Robinson Red but it is actually just basic Red Acer Palmatum that may or may not have the mother trees attributes . Most seed grown generic trees are more hardy than most actual named cultivars that are grafted or otherwise "duplicated".. seed grown gerneric red and green palmatums are used as root stock because of their hardiness,,, almost all of my freeze killed named cultivars have root stock growth coming up...they weren't killed the cultivar tree was. It is also true trees on their own roots are "generally" more hardy . David

I have a 'Viridis" and an 'Ever Red"here in zone 5. The buds were swelling on both this spring when after a period of temps over 60 it dropped to 19. The 'Viridis' was unfazed. There was bark split on the top 20% of the Ever Red. The bark split did not become evident until late June. I kept the tree on a regular watering schedule through the summer months. It seems OK. No branch die back and the bark split is showing good callous healing at the edges. It isnt so much the winter low temps as a nasty hard freeze at the wrong time. Many of the JM's in neighbor's yards never leafed out at all. (Hydrangeas were killed back to the ground throughout the region according to the local county agriculltural extension agent.) No local gardener will forget the Easter Freeze of 2007.

Yes oddly the hydrangeas did die back and did not bloom this year as our ag person also stated... I didn't believe him at the time but really know little of hydrangeas ...they grew back albiet puny and did not bloom.
Yes Snapple...the hit or miss destruction of cultivars has me befumbled . It certainly has put a dent in my plan to list what can or can't grow here since it was such an anomaly. And why certain trees were decimated even here ( worse south and south east) is a mystery ...could be how healthy they were , location , soil, wetness, or cultvar ...we will never know .David

This message was edited Sep 3, 2007 9:44 AM

I will say it probably had less to do with the cultivar ...in one case I had matching crimson queens within 10 feet of one another ...one was always smaller and less vigorous and in a slighly wetter area ...it Kaputed the other lived and is doing well...same with a Emperor 1 one more exposed kaputted the other more protected did not and a fireglow temn feet from the kaputted E1 did fine. the only "cultivar Caviat" I would have is "generally" the dissectums were KO'd the most.
I think this all has less to say about the cultivar except in one area . Almost all the trees that were greatly damaged or kaputted died from bark damage on the main trunk above the graft...Those with branch bark damage or simple bud and leaf damage lived but did suffer dieback or had little growth except a couple whose bark damage caused pseudonomous to invade the tree. BUT the majority odf thise that died were of the green bark variety ...the red bark trees almost universally did fine with little damage except for the one E1. I think the red bark varieties have a bit thicker 'skin" than the green ones...unfortunatly most Jm's I have seen are of the green bark type.. David