I was surprised to notice last week, after a rainy stretch, new leaves emerging on two (out of eight) of the baby maples I planted this year: a Purple Ghost and a Katsura (the JM variety, not the species). It seems to be getting a bit late in our short growing season -- just about two months before the first frosts may (or may not) arrive -- and I wonder if there's time for the new foliage to properly ripen and harden off before winter. But not that worried. I haven't been overfeeding the trees -- in particular they've gotten very little nitrogen -- and the new growth doesn't seem overly exuberant: just one pair of emergent new leaves on each tiny tree. I'm new to Japanese maples, so I don't have any basis of comparison. But it's interesting that the two trees showing new growth are distinct from the others in two respects: They are planted in natural, unamended soil at the edges of the surrounding woodland, and they were both -- especially in comparison to the other maples -- showing notable signs of stress from afternoon sun and rapidly drying soil, with the result that I was watering both of them quite often between rainy spells. Do JMs often do this -- send out new growth in late summer?
I'm sorry - I don't know the answers to your questions but I was just about to post a pic of the same thing which happened to my little tamukeyama. I was pleasantly surprised to see this mid summer flush. Tree is overall struggling a bit in full sun and with its small size doesn't have a canopy for protection, so my interpretaion was that some secondary buds were comin out under this stress. thoughts?
Lots of mine are putting out new growth right now. I don't think you're seeing anything unusual. In fact, I know in the trade they do a lot of mid-summer grafting and then, once the grafts have taken, they force them into a growth spurt by giving them light at night. So, I don't think its unusual and I don't think it's too late or else the nurseries would not be able to force their grafts this time of year. Hope that's a comfort. Regards,
From my experience all your new growth is perfectly normal. My maples put out new growth in the Spring and again in July-August so I think your trees are fine. Good luck & have fun!
Does anyone observe shirasawanums and japonicums making summer or late season growth as routinely as palmatums?
I am obviously not a reliable test case, but neither or my two shirasawanums nor my one japonicum show signs of wanting to sprout new leaves like the two palmatums. Paxi, I wondered like you whether the stress of sun and heat may have somehow stimulated the plants to put on this new growth. Two other palmatums planted at the same time are not putting out new growth yet both look happier, on the whole, than the pair of late-sprouters: no sign at all of stress or crinkled leaves or anything like that. I can sort of relate. In lean years I tend to work a lot harder. This summer, with money in the bank from a book contract, I'm spending a lot of time poking around in the garden and drinking beer. Not to floramorphize or anything.
Floramorphize! impressive Kaspian. Regarding growth that is initiated in later summer or early fall it seems unpredictable which cultivars will deliver. Sometimes it's very surprising -- like 'Utsu semi' last year and 'Emerald lace' this year. 'Okushimo' has been growing steadily since spring and both 'Moonfire' and 'Osakazuki' were steaming along until I cut off the fast growing stem tips. With AJ and AS, this year 'Aka omote' looks like it is ready to push out a whole new plant none of the other AJ or AS that i grow have ever had a 2nd flush that I've noticed. It could still be a reflection of cultural practices but i wondered if it is genetic or species related. All of these plants are potted. Gil
Gil, after reading your post I noticed my Acer shirasawanum 'Red Dawn' is pushing several inches of red new growth.
My A.s. 'Autumn Moon' is pushing out a ton of new growth. A.s. 'Junihito' - none A.s. 'Aureum Full Moon' - none A.j. 'Otaki' - none A.j. 'Woods #2' - had some 6 weeks ago (estimate) A.j. '6910' - had some 6 weeks ago (estimate)
Guys thanks for the info. I noticed a bit of new growth on AS 'Garden glory' today. Mike, 'Red dawn' is a favorite of mine. My tree seems robust but not a hint of anything popping. And you were correct about the ease of germinating 'red dawn's' samaras. K4 'Junihitoe' is another favorite. I'd be totally shocked to see this or 'Johin' grow at all after May. I'm not a big fan of AS 'Aureum' but a small tree here has been growing steadily and slowly since spring. Gil
A.s. 'Junihitoe' is a gem! I'm totally in love with this tree! I love my 'Aureum' as well, but 'Junihitoe' has so much personality and almost perfect 'fan-folded' leaves. So far its taking the heat down here OK.
Agree K4. 'Junihitoe' holds up very well here on a hot, sunny, windy deck. It is stately and sturdy, an excellent pair of attributes. The 'Aka omote' is coming on strong though. It doesn't take full sun as well but it is very charming. When this second flush takes off I'll post a pic. In Philly it's been really toasty. We've had 3 heat waves that hit 100F. One of them was in June! The 'Utsu semi' that was so amazing in May is now a crispy critter, hoping for a 2nd flush. G
Gil, My 'Johin' put on several inches of new red growth in July. Very vigorous growth which has now turned greenish. I just got 'Aka omote' which has a little new growth like yours. Mike
Mike, Thanks for that info. I think that I'm missing a lot of summer growth here because my roots/soil are too hot. I think that may be why shaded, carefully attended to trees crisp up every year. It never occurred to me before I always thought that a missed watering was the cause but this year there were no lapses and conditions persist. Kaspian mentioned it in another post and it seems to apply to my issue. I need to do some research on keeping roots cooler. Maybe experimenting with smart pots etc... I have no way to plant the trees in the ground so getting the roots cooler is a challenge. For summer heroics I must mention a Davidia that is growing in a whiskey barrel here. It normally makes a good spring flush but in the last three weeks it's grown 2-3 feet on a few branches. I pray for the legendary flowers. Wonder if any have bloomed in containers? Gil
I've heard the pots that look like ceramic but that are actually made of poly-foam stay much cooler than the real ceramic pots. They look good too. I would imagine lighter pot colors stay cooler as well. I've also heard of double-potting with a layer of sphagnum moss inbetween to insulate the inner pot. In the South, a lot of people dress the tops of their pots with dried Spanish Moss. Its a silvery color, and keeps the soil in the pot cooler. Regards,
Thanks for that info K4. There probably is some science out there about container temps. I imagined that the clay pots were a good choice because they evaporate a good amount but I think science will provide better information than intuition. It's not like I'm painting them black in the blazing urban sun! They are natural pots in the shade (for the most part) and all are mulched with sea weed or shredded bark and they pretty much never dry out.
Lots of growth here as well. The Bloodgood, Butterfly, Inaba Shidare, Seiryu, and Orangeola are all putting on a ton of new beautiful leaves. The only one I have that is not is the Emperor 1.
... and the trees I have in pots are lined with bubble wrap (cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter...) Tom
Bubble wrap!! Cool idea Tom! I would never have thought of that, although I did wrap my maples in it during a late frost period this spring. They all came through perfectly. Thanks!
Hey TJ Thanks for sharing. What is your zone? And where do you use the wrap? A pot in pot w wrap in between? I been thinking of using smart pots with mulch between the bag and the pot. I've done it with just 2 plants here and they are perfectly fine. But I can't be sure that is the reason. Gil
I'm in Fort Collins, Colorado -- Zone 5. I buy pots slightly larger than needed and pick up bubble wrap at Wal-Mart (I know -- evil, but the easiest place to find it...). I literally tape the bubble wrap to the inside of the pot and then fill with potting soil (I've used a variety of potting soils and that doesn't seem to matter). Then I plant the tree directly into the pot. Haven't lost any in 3 years (I'm new to this...)
Tom, The bubble wrap for winter sounds useful but our (Z7) summers are meaner than yours. Often it doesn't cool down at night and sometimes every day for a week or so might go into the mid 90's with nights around 78-80. We have good humidity (high) but it's also windy here (deck). Superthrive is definitely worth a try. Appreciate your ideas. G
We just ended a streak of 24 days over 90 degrees.... just for the record, but it does cool off considerably at night. I noticed an almost immediate difference with SuperThrive and recommend it. Good luck! Tom
