Some popular Japanese Maple varieties can be expensive, but they are an investment that will mature into one of the most interesting pieces in your garden. Because of its value and incredible potential, losing a Japanese Maple would be devastating to any dedicated gardener. Under the two major species, Acer Palmatum and Acer Japonicum, there are over 1,000 individual cultivars and new varieties introduced everyday, each one with its own specific needs. It can be very difficult to pinpoint exactly how you should care for you specific tree.

Take the time to research which tree you want and its needs. Try to get as much information as you can from the provider about your tree. This article offers a few brief tips about general care for Acers that should get you started in the right direction.

Planting Your Acer

Most Japanese Maples have delicate, deeply lobed leaves that are very susceptible to wind and the hot summer sun. Having the tree fully exposed will certainly lead to scorched leaves and a puny tree. Think of your tree's habit and mature size when planting. You would not want a tree that will be 15' wide in a few years planted too closely to any permanent structure or other trees. Choose a place with plenty of room in a partially shaded place, preferably a spot where your tree can get a nice dose of morning sun and be protected through the harshest part of those hot summer afternoons.

Gardeners will often plant their trees in holes that are too deep and too narrow. Roots need access to oxygen and room to grow. Dig a hole about three times the width of the root ball, and the crown (the place where the roots meet the trunk) should be level with the soil surface. If you have clay soil, make sure to break up the sides and bottom of the hole to prevent water from being trapped and rotting your brand new tree. If your tree was in a container, carefully pull apart the roots to ensure that your tree does not become girdled and strangle itself. Recover the soil to the crown, but do not pack it down tightly–loose dirt allows roots to become established.

Feeding and Watering Your Acer

Japanese Maples love moisture–during the warmer months, especially for the first few seasons, make sure you give your tree a good deep watering about twice a week to help it establish strong roots. An all-purpose slow-release fertilizer is perfect for Japanese Maples. Just work the fertilizer into the soil around the tree at the beginning of the season, and that should be plenty for the rest of the year. Some varieties, especially the dissectum varieties of Acer Palmatum, have very fine dissected leaves. These varieties will probably need a little more water and a little more attention to ensure that the leaves do not dry up and scorch in the summer or freeze in a late frost and scorch. If you suspect a late frost is headed your way, just go ahead and cover your Acers and any other delicates in your garden.

Maintaining Your Acer

If your tree has been properly planted, has established itself, and has developed a strong root system, the only thing left to do is periodic pruning and shaping. Pruning maples is really simple. Remove dead or damaged limbs, and any new growth that appears on the main trunk (allowing your tree to focus its energy on filling out its distinctly beautiful branches). You may also want to shorten long limbs that distract from the overall shape of the tree.

Whether it's a variety of Acer Japonicum or Acer palmatum, given the right care, your Japanese Maple will be stunning. When it comes to Acers, gardeners are always looking for something very specific, and it will be to your greatest advantage to not only consider the tips above, but research your tree and know exactly what it needs to secure your wonderful investment. Whether you are looking for dwarf Japanese Maples or dazzling bright Japanese Maples with fiery colored foliage, make sure you do your homework first, and your new tree will make your garden spectacular for years to come.

Thomas Andrews is a garden writer for Wayside Gardens, but this article was inspired by a little company called Kaboku Gardens, a seller of fine trees for traditional Japanese gardens.

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At first the Latin names used in horticulture can seem to be a bit off putting and hard to remember. Don't worry! After a bit of practice the names will come more easily to you! Honestly!

'Acer' (pronounced Ay-Sir) is the Genus of plants known commonly as maples. Of all the maple species, the Japanese maple (known by its botanical name as Acer palmatum) is the most variable. It is this variability that we enjoy so much in these much admired trees.

There are three basic sub-species of Acer palmatum. These are: amoenum, matsumurae and palmatum. The word 'palmatum' (pronounced PAL-MATE-UM) comes from the root word PALMATE or palm-like, meaning the leaf looks like the palm of your hand with fingers.

Unnamed red leaved maples sometimes have the generic name Acer palmatum atropurpureum. 'Atropurpureum' refers to the red leaf form. Split leaf or cut leaf Japanese maples are referred to as: Acer palmatum dissectum or Acer palmatum dissectum atropurpureum for the red cutleaf form. Dissectum (pronounced DIE-SECK-TUM) simply describes the leaves as being dissected or split (cut) into a fine filigree form.

Naming of particular Japanese maple tree cultivars (cultivar = a distinctive plant maintained by cultivation) follows the rules of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. Cultivar names should always be written in roman type with single 'quote' marks after the species name. For example: Acer palmatum 'Osakazuki' or Acer palmatum dissectum atropurpureum 'Crimson queen'.

When you are looking to buy an Acer palmatum (Japanese maple) tree you will need to answer the following questions:

1. What color leaf do you want? Red, green or variegated?
2. What sort of leaf shape would you like? Regular 5-, 7- or 9-pointed leaf or the cutleaf type?
3. How high do you want to tree to grow? Less than 6 feet tall? 6 to 12 feet tall? Over 12 feet tall?
4. Is the tree going to be planted in full sun, partial sun or mainly in the shade?

From the answer to these questions we can progressively do a “Sherlock Holmes” investigation and eliminate particular named cultivars that do not fit the criteria selected.

For the rest of us, just plain old Japanese maple tree will do!

Examples of popular green leaf Japanese maples cultvars are: Oskazuki, Sango kaku, Shishigashira.
 
Examples of popular red leaf Japanese maples cultvars are: Bloodgood, Bonfire, Red emperor, Shaina.
Examples of popular green cutleaf Japanese maples cultvars are: Viridis and Waterfall.
Examples of popular red cutleaf Japanese maples cultivars are: Crimson queen, Garnet, Inaba shidare, Orangeola and Red dragon.

Ken Alston is a green thumbed British/American gardener, maple-aholic and owner of http://Japanese-Maple.com who provides gardeners and fellow Japanese maple tree enthusiasts with valuable advice, information and hard to find Japanese maple seeds, seedlings and grafted trees.

Ken's FREE E-course on how to grow Acer palmatum is at http://japanese-maple.com.

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Japanese Maples for the Home Landscape

by chris on July 13, 2010

Photo found on Flickr, courtesy of Tina++.

The typical Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) grows fifteen-to-twenty-five feet high, with an equal or greater spread. In the landscape it is grown as a small, single stemmed tree or a large, multi-stemmed shrub. The many different cultivars available through nurseries and garden centers range from six-foot bushes to fifty-foot trees.

How to Grow Japanese Maples

Plant Japanese maples in moist, well-drained garden soil enriched with organic matter. Depending on the climate and the variety, the tree may benefit from some shade and wind protection to keep the leaves from scorching or drying out.

A light annual pruning will help maintain the tree’s size, shape, and general vigor.

Japanese Maple Pests and Diseases

Japanese maples are susceptible to anthracnose, especially in rainy weather. Leaf scorch, caused by draught, leaves brown margins on the leaves. Newly planted trees and trees with limited growing space are particularly vulnerable to leaf scorch. Japanese beetles, scale, and aphids may attack Japanese maples.

Different Japanese maples have different growing requirements and varying vulnerabilities. Growing trees that are known to thrive in your climate and conditions and attending to their needs are excellent ways to reduce insect and disease problems. Your local extension service or nursery can recommend the best Japanese maples for your location.

Japanese Maple Propagation

Depending on the cultivar, the best way to propagate Japanese maples is with softwood cuttings or by grafting.

Japanese Maple Cultivars

Of the many cultivars, following are some of the most popular:

·Bloodgood has an upright form with deeply indented purplish-red leaves that deepen in fall.

·Rubrum has large deep red leaves that turn green as they reach full size.

·Ozakazuki is one of the best Japanese maples for fall color. Its large light green leaves turn bright red in autumn.

·Sherwood Fame has deeply indented red leaves.

·Waterfall has graceful, deeply dissected leaves that give the effect of a waterfall.

·Versicolor has leaves with pink, white, and pale green variations.

Japanese Maples In the Home Landscape

Japanese maples have many uses in the home landscape. Their relatively small size makes them ideal as specimens or accent plants. They also mix well in a shrub border. They are at home in containers and are adaptable as bonsai.

Because of their graceful shapes and delicate leaves, Japanese maples make an artistic and elegant statement in any home garden.

Find the Right Cultivar

When selecting Japanese maples the home gardener should choose cultivars that are the size and shape for their landscape and that grow well in their climate. With so many to choose from, most gardeners can find just the right ones.

Original article can be found here.

The Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) is one of the most well-known and widely used maple trees in gardens around the globe, and it is an ideal specimen for bonsai. Bonsai aficionados enjoy this tree for it's delicate leaves, it's natural small size, but mainly for it's beautiful fall colors. This maple is native to Japan and China. The leaves of the Japanese Maple look somewhat like a human hand, from which it's botanical name is derived. It is a popular bonsai subject in Japan and throughout the world. There are several varieties of Acer palmatum, including thread-leaf and lace-leaf varieties, and both green and red varieties. Most people associate with the red variety which is why it is the most popular.

How to Water the Japanese Maple

Your Japanese maple bonsai will require regular watering from spring, when you begin to see signs that the tree is coming out of dormancy, through late fall when the tree has dropped the last of it's leaves. Japanese maples like moist soil, so you will need to be vigilant in checking the moisture level in the soil to maintain the optimum level of moisture. Your Japanese Maple will quickly die if the soil is allowed to completely dry out. Try to water it in the morning, and then check it later in the day to make sure it is still somewhat moist. It's important that your plant's pot has sufficient drainage holes to allow all the excess water to drain out. If the water does not drain thoroughly the trees roots will sit in water and develop root rot.

The Proper Levels of Sunlight

Your tree will benefit greatly from getting the proper amount of sunlight – not too much and not too little. But Japanese maples have somewhat “delicate” and sensitive foliage, and need some protection from intense mid-day summer sun, and also from leaf-drying winds. Try to place your tree where it will receive direct morning and evening sun, but is protected from the mid-day sun when it is the hottest outside. The sensitive leaves of the maple can actually burn if exposed for long periods to intense sunshine. In the spring and autumn the mid-day sun is relatively mild and so it is OK to leave your bonsai in the full sun all day at these times of the year. “Wind burn” can result from unprotected exposure to hot, dry summer winds that will strip you plant's leaves of important moisture, so take care to protect your tree from these winds too. Make sure that you keep your Japanese Maple out of direct sun and wind during the 2 weeks following any root pruning and re-potting. Theroots are unable to furnish enough moisture to the leaves during this time.

Japanese maples, while being hardy, should be placed in an area that is protected from cold and harsh winter winds also. Winter winds tend to be dry winds, and even though your Japanese maple will be in a state of dormancy during the winter, cold drying winds can cause damage.

Humidity = Thriving Trees

Plants thrive in humid environments, and the Japanese maple is no exception. Humidity can be increased by filling a shallow container with small stones, and then covering the stones with water, and then placing your bonsai pot on top of the stones. As the water evaporates from the shallow pan it will furnish humidity to your bonsai plant which will slow the process of transpiration. Another way to increase the humidity level and reduce the transpiration of water from the leaves is to give your bonsai a frequent spraying with a fine mist.

Feeding and Fertilizing

You can start fertilizing your Japanese maple bonsai in the spring after it has begun showing new growth. Use a high nitrogen, slow release fertilizer, and continue fertilizing every two to three weeks clear through mid-fall. The best natural fertilizer that is high in nitrogen is fish emulsion. If you prefer to use chemical fertilizers, feed every other week with a half-strength solution of a balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer. Avoid any potential damage to your bonsai tree by not fertilizing during the hottest weeks of the summer. You can help prepare your bonsai for the upcoming winter by switching to a low nitrogen fertilizer beginning in mid-autumn. This will harden off the current years new growth.

If you have repotted and done some spring root pruning then do not feed during the two months following repotting when a tree is weakened or you could cause root damage.

Jul 26, 2006 by  Susan Mertz

The homeowner said yes to a Japanese inspiration garden. Now it’s time for the interior designer and landscape designer to visit the nursery and finish their plan.

With a rough sketch of a garden design in hand, a landscape designer and interior designer stopped by the nursery. They wanted to see what Japanese plants we had on hand for a new garden that was under construction. Part of the garden was to be a Japanese inspiration garden. The Japanese theme was to carry on throughout the remainder of the new patio plantings. Under construction were garden walls and paver patios. There were very few straight lines in the design; it was a series of half circles. The design duo wanted a tour of the nursery for ideas to finish the design.

Having never been involved with designing a Japanese garden, I was flying by the seat of my pants. I was glad my job was just to point out possibilities of different plants. Point and smile – kind of like Vanna White. This project didn’t seem to have a budget and that made it easier to come up with suggestions. We started with maples.

Japanese Maples. Laceleafs and Bloodgoods in sizes ranging from small containers to mature specimens. Given all the pavement and full sun location, it is probably too hot for laceleafs.

Bamboo.

Golden Crookstem might be the answer for the area with the backdrop of the stone wall. With night lighting, the shadows from the swaying movement of the bamboo would be accentuated against the wall.

Liriope.

The floor of the inspiration garden was to be part raked gravel and part groundcover. Big Blue Liriope would be too tall for this area. Creeping might be a better option.

Conifers.

Large Tanyosho and Mugho Pines on standards would give the garden a mature look. Rowe Arboretum Lacebark Pine might be a good substitution for a Japanese Black Pine. Procumbens and Gold Lace Junipers are low growing evergreens for color and texture. Dwarf Hinoki Cypress could be the perfect accent plant. A Cascade Falls Weeping Bald Cypress might need to find a home in this garden.

Deciduous trees.

I had to show them my current favorite maple. Given the hot conditions of the site, I thought a Shantung Maple might work better than a green laceleaf maple. On the way, the interior designer commented on the form of the weeping redbuds. That required a stop at the Young’s Weeping Serpentine Birch to see if one might work in the design. Flowering tree form Hydrangeas got their attention and suddenly they might be the perfect answer for planting in front of the wall. I expressed concern about the radiant heat, but they decided to worry about that later.

Filler plants. Smaller plants would go in once the larger ones were in place. We looked at Firepower Nandina, Peonies, Butterfly Bushes, Boxwood and perennials.

Worn out by the possibilities, the design duo left and told me to schedule a delivery for the next day. They would call back later in the day with the order.

Looking for a distinctive tree to add to your garden or landscape design? One of the most popular choices today is the Japanese Maple. Within the genus Acer, the maple trees, you will find a couple of species broken up into over 1,000 cultivated varieties that are generally accepted as “Japanese” Maples. This is unfortunate for gardeners, because when you purchase a Japanese Maple, you are usually looking to add a very specific accent to your garden. And with so many choices from red, lace leaf Japanese Maple trees to variegated green and gold dwarf varieties it may be difficult to find exactly what you are looking for.

Japanese Maple Species

First, the two acer species that generally qualify as Japanese Maples are the very popular Acer Palmatum and the Downy Japanese maple or Acer Japonicum. A few cultivars, such as Acer shirasawavum, the full moon maple, are different enough that they are often classified as separate species. Palmatum varieties tend to be more delicate and not quite as cold-hardy as Japonicum, but they have the very distinct Japanese Maple look, with spreading branches and densely clumped foliage that forms into horizontal layers. Japonicum is slightly taller–many over 30 feet–and tends to grow a little more up than out.

Describing Japanese Maple Habit

When you purchase an Acer, or any plant, and you hear someone mention its habit, they are referring to its characteristic form–the plant's mode of growth. They may use words like dwarf, semi-dwarf, horizontal, tufted, and weeping. Once you know what all this means, you can easily pick the exact tree that you want. Dwarf varieties are shrubs that are less than four feet tall. Semi-dwarf refers to smaller trees, usually no more than 10 feet tall. When a tree's habit is described as horizontal, it means that the foliage forms horizontal layers. Tufted means that the leaves grow together from the same point, forming little clumps of dense foliage. Weeping limbs are long and thin, and they grow towards the ground.

Describing Japanese Maple Foliage

The foliage of Japanese Maples varies a great deal from one cultivar to the next, and it can be difficult to find what you want. Retailers often discuss the leaf color and shape in their descriptions, because they strongly affect the overall look of the tree. Variegation is the presence of multiple colors on one leaf. Because of the immense range of hues offered by Acers, variegation can sometimes be quite dramatic. They range from the bright green to the deep red varieties that have names like “Bloodgood” and “Crimson Queen,” and the fall foliage of acers hits every color on the visible spectrum except blue. Often the cut of the leaf will be mentioned–this is just the depth of the separation of the lobes of a single leaf. The deeper the cut, the more delicate the leaf. Extreme examples of this trait would be the dissectum or lace-leaf varieties, such as “Seiryu” and “Emerald Lace.”

The Best Acer For Your Garden?

The purpose for your specific Japanese Maple purchase ultimately determines which variety you should choose. For a tree to plant as a specimen that will stand alone, you would most likely pick a variety you found to be the most interesting overall. If you are planting a Japanese-themed garden, the varieties you choose should exhibit a very typical ancient Japanese look, often to the point of exaggeration. Beyond hard landscaping, your Acers will highlight the theme more than anything else in your garden. Look for the ones that fit the size of your space and the colors you want include. And if you are choosing a variety for bonsai, dwarf varieties with small, but interesting foliage are recommended.

In short, the best Acer for your garden is the Japanese Maple that speaks to you with its habit, color, and leaf shape, and makes the statement that your special garden deserves.

Thomas Andrews is a garden writer for Wayside Gardens, an Online and Mail-Order provider of Perennials, Roses, Trees and Shrubs for American Gardens.

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http://EzineArticles.com/?Japanese-Maples—Choosing-The-Right-Acer&id=578465

By Tony Tomeo