Here’s how to plant a Japanese maple tree and keep it looking gorgeous as it grows.
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People who say they dont like maple trees invariably likethismaple tree.
Learn how to plant a Japanese maple tree in your own yard, and you’ll soon understand why.
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These maples are compact, usually under 25 feet tall, grow slowly, seldom overtake a space.
They also dont litter the ground with sticks like certain other maples do.
Larger cultivars work as specimen plants.
Credit:David Speer
Japanese maples do best when sheltered from wind and the hottest rays of the afternoon sun.
They actually prefer the partly shaded conditions found near mature trees or two-story houses common in many neighborhoods.
Site the tree on the east side of a structure orlarge shade tree.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Dig a hole as deep as the root ball but twice as wide.
This will encourage the roots to migrate outward.
Plant the tree and backfill with the excavated soil, then top with 1 to 2 inches of compost.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Tamp the ground to remove air pockets and water well.
Japanese Maple Tree Care Tips
Japanese maple is a low-maintenance tree when its basic needs are met.
Light
Plant Japanese maple where it willreceive 4 to 5 hours of sunlight per day.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Scorched leaves have brown margins and may crinkle up or fall from the tree in mid to late summer.
Soil and Water
Japanese maple likes a slightly acidic, humus-richsoil with good drainage.
It will not tolerate wet, poorly drained soils.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Avoid salty or alkaline soils.
Regular watering is needed the first year after transplanting and during drought.
The more sunlight a Japanese maple receives, the more water it requires.
Credit: Jon Jensen
As a thin-bark tree, Japanese maple is subject to damage from the freeze-thaw cycle in colder climates.
A slow-release fertilizer applied in spring will supply added nutrients throughout the growing season.
Remove branches that are rubbing against each other, growing inward, or straight up.
Credit: Kritsada Panichgul
Verticillium wilt is a fungus disease causing leaves to wilt, often on only one side of the tree.
Another telltale sign is finding green or black streaks along the inner wood of wilting branches.
Seed
Collect the winged seeds (called samaras) in fall.
Credit: Helen Norman
Layering
In spring or fall, choose a flexible young shoot to use for layering.
It reaches 15-20 feet tall and about as wide.
It grows 18 feet tall and wide.
It is a good selection for the humid Southeast.
It tops out around 25 feet tall and 15-20 feet wide.
It features deeply dissected green leaves that have red tips in spring and later turn to gold in fall.
It grows 10-15 feet tall and 8-12 feet wide.
It only gets 2-3 feet tall, and 6-8 feet wide.
Emperor 1 tolerates heat well, and the dark-purple-red leaves are less prone to scorching.
It grows up to 15 feet tall and wide.
They also grow slowly and wont overpower Japanese maple.
Rhododendrons and Azaleas
Shade-lovingrhododendronsand azaleas come in a range of sizes and flower colors.
Oaks
These stately trees can provide the high shade or dappled shade that Japanese maples crave.
Japanese maples grow at a slow to moderate rate of 1 to 2 feet per year.
