How to Plant a Japanese Maple Correctly | Step by Step for Beginners.

Follow these simple yet crucial steps for planting your Japanese Maple tree (Acer) to give your tree the best start and promote healthy growth and aesthetics.

Selecting which tree to use is the first challenge since there are so many beautiful varieties. It has to work well in the space you have. If you are working with a smaller garden, consider using one of the dwarf maples such as Acer Crimson Queen (Laceleaf Maple), or Acer Red Dragon (Red Dragon Japanese Maple). These have beautiful red weeping leaves that create an incredible focal point in small spaces or courtyards. If you have a larger landscape area to work with, this opens up your options. Acer Bloodgood, or Bloodgood Japanese Maple is a very popular selection. It grows upright with brilliant red classic maple-shaped leaves and does well in warmer climates. Other great options are Acer Sango Kaku (Coral Bark Maple) which has a beautiful unique bark color as the name suggests. Another fantastic option is Acer Oshio Beni which has an upright growth habit with deep red vibrant leaves. Acer Tamukeyama has a deep rich almost purple tone to its foliage and is considered a medium-sized Maple. These are just a few of the tremendous options available. So it's up to you to decide which tree will be best for your space and how the foliage color will play off of the rest of your plants.

And just as important as selecting the right tree, we look at deciding on the best location for your Japanese Maple tree. Location is key to the health of the tree, especially in warmer climates like Southern California. Generally, Japanese Maples prefer to have some protection from hot afternoon sun. So study your space and look at the sun angle. Make sure the delicate leaves are protected from direct sun in the hottest parts of the day.

Now that you got your tree and location, it's time to plant. Japanese Maples like well-drained, slightly acidic soil. In most cases, amending the soil is needed. Mix the amendment about 50/50 with the natural soil from the planting hole. Potentially more if the natural soil is very poor (heavy clay, rocky, etc). If you have hard water, consider adding gypsum which helps leach out salt in the soil. Salty soils can cause leaf burn.

For fertilizer, I generally use an evenly balance blend with the nitrogen count being no more than 10. I like Grow Power Plus because it's also a soil conditioner. After backfilling half way, put the fertilizer in and water thoroughly. Make sure to always follow instructions on the bag!

Now finish up backfilling around the tree and lightly compact around the root ball. I like to use the butt end of the shovel to punch down around the root ball to alleviate air pockets. I then create a small channel around the root ball for the water to sit. Then I water THOROUGHLY.

Maples like to have a layer of mulch (but not directly touching the trunk). Apply a thick layer, 2-3". Mulch helps lock in moisture which is especially crucial for new trees. And it also helps build the top soil as it decomposes which adds nutrients back into the soil. And... it just looks nice!

For purchasing info:

https://www.budgetplants.com/shrubs/a...

Thanks for watching, and happy planting!

Dom




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