I bought an Acer palmatum 'Tsukushigata in late October of 2014. It was a brilliant orange-red and impossible to resist. After doing some reading, I planted it in a spot where it gets a few hours of sun in the middle of the day, approximate 11 am to 3 pm once the larger trees have leafed out. The color was rather disappointing last fall and I'm wondering whether it would be happier in a spot with more sun throughout the morning, but shaded most of afternoon. Does anyone have experience with this cultivar? Thanks, Samara
I have a Tsukushigata and it gets morning sun only. Fall colors were so-so for me last year but it was the first year I had the tree. If you really like the placement of the tree now I would maybe give it another fall season to see how the colors are this year in case it was weather/temperature related as opposed to sun exposure. If you are not happy after this fall it may be time to relocate. Tsukushigata is definitely one of my favorite cultivars and a rarity in a lot of collections.
Acer palmatum 'Tsukushigata' placement Thanks, bub72ck! I do know that it can take a couple years for a tree to show its true colors. That was the experience I had with Osakazuki. The first year was very disappointing. In the autumn of its second year it turned a dark red, which wasn't what I was expecting, and then one morning I looked out the kitchen window and was shocked by the brilliant red at the back of the yard. Let's hope that will be the case with Tsukushigata. It's a favorite of mine, too.
Mine gets all day sun and always has great color. You should consider more sun, unless you need or want to keep it in its current spot.
The sooner the better in my opinion. Check the forecast and move it on a cloudy day when clouds and or rain is expected for the next couple of days and temps are forecasted to be cooler. Get an old towel and soak it. When you pull the tree out of the ground, wrap the rootball in the wet towel. Have the new site ready to go to minimize time above ground. Dunk the root ball into a large bucket of water and allow all the air bubbles to escape and place into the new hole. Fill and plant the tree like you know how and water it in and then mulch. This is a good time as fall planning can be tricky based on some of the very cold winters we have had over the past few years. Its a race to get established before the extreme cold sets in; thats a lesson learned from our harshest winter a few years back. We used to use 10 gallon buckets and old metal pales for dunking anything 7 gallon pot or smaller. Now they have large light weight plastic tubtrugs flexible tubs or similar off brand that works great. (Great for shrubs and perenials too) By submerging the root ball you get all air pockets out which greatly reduces the chances of transplant shock. Larger trees use the wet towel and have the hose ready to mist and keep the roots from drying out. Water daily for the first 5 days to a week if it does not rain and is warm and sunny, then once every few days for the next two weeks and then taper back to your normal watering schedule. Note, when watering daily if the site looks damp already then skip that day. Daily watering is based on the assumption that the site is full sun with warm temperatures and soil does not appear damp before watering. The idea is to keep the roots cool and moist. Never allowing the surface roots to completely dry out after transplanting. Too much water can reduce the roots ability to take up water, because water can eliminate oxygen in the root zone and oxygen is needed in order for the roots to take up water. This can cause transplant shock and lead to root rot. We have moved Japanese maples at all times of Spring and Summer with no problems using this method.
I had mine in all day sun and it withstood it beautifully. I think this one prefers more sun, actually.
