"acer palmatum atropurpureum" - in Perth

Hi,

I was just wondering if "acer palmatum atropurpureum" would be suitable for growing in Perth, Western Australia, which I believe is a Zone 4. My main concern is that the summers here can reach 37 degrees Celsius at times, and I am planning to plant it in full sun. Perhaps with a lot of watering everyday it will survive?

Thanks,

Christine

 

At those temperatures I most certainly wouldn't plant it in full sun. However there are many others here with first hand knowledge of your type of conditions who will be better able to advise you with a fuller reply
Northern Ireland has never been blessed with such summers ...... :)

 

Cristine welcome on board!Z4 is for Example Sweden or Finland your zone is 8/9 or is Z4 if your winter is -34to-29 (z8 is -12,to-7 ; z9 is -7 to -1)however ask is for the summer!
So is possible plant maple in this zone ,in Italy i have more maples in similar conditions ,good exp.is sun morning shade in afteron pine bark around the trunk water every two days two Gallons ,if you are another problems write again !for more read in FAQ "how plant a maple"

 

Different zone systems . . . on the USDA scale that Alex cites, Perth is zone 10, or possibly zone 11.

Got to agree with whis4ey, it isn't going to be successful there, particularly given what I've read about ongoing severe drought and water shortages in Perth.

 

Thanks for the replies everyone! ^^

I consulted another source (www.gardensonline.com.au), and yes apparently Perth is a Zone 9. This is a tragedy, but thank you anyway.

I was hoping that there would be nothing more severe than leaf burns during the rare summer days during which the temperature is just below 40 degrees Celsius, and then return to normal for the rest of the year. The water shortages aren't really a problem - just water it everyday! As I said, it's just the hot summer weather I'm concerned about.

As for the zones... the above source also says that zones 7, 8, 9 and 10 are suitable for this plant. www.gardensonline.com.au/GardenShed/PlantFinder And as for the light, it says, "sun/shade" Is there an hope left for my plant? Tragedy... Tragedy... Maybe I'll just move to Japan. Ahahaha.

By the way, nice garden whis4ey

 

yes is possible in nord Africa too, but up 1000 m on the sea level ,this is a complete
informations ...zone is important but level sea too,optimal level for maple is 1300/1600 m on leval sea near small river !!good umidity and good dreinage...
Regards alex

 

These are grown in desert areas of southern California, where in irrigated landscapes the main problem seems to be mineral salts in the water. Sunset WESTERN GARDEN BOOK says if you see evergreen azaleas growing in the neighborhood then Japanese maples are also possible. A more direct hint, of course would be seeing other Japanese maples of some size already growing in the neighborhood. If there aren't any of these highly popular trees anywhere nearby, that is not a good sign.

 

Well I've already planted my good ole Maply Aply, as I've lovingly nicknamed it, in full sun. We'll see how it goes, I guess. I think I'll buy a giant sized umbrella to shelter it in the summer if need be, tis such a spoilt little tree.

I've only seen one other maple tree of this particular kind in my suburb, however I think that the owner planted the tree relatively recently as well, and thus it hasn't passed the test of summer yet. There are a few other maple trees around the area, about three different varieties, which are all exposed to full sun. "Of some size" would be an understatement - they're humongous. But then again these types may just be more heat tolerant.

As for azaleas, I think that only certain types of azaleas can tolerate our sun... "Special" types.

 

ok Cristine good luck ,like italian sport man in Perth!!write after summer or for another ask ..alex

 

Well I am in Sydney which is in zone 10 and my atropurpureum only gets 2 hours of afternoon sun.

It's enough to cause the plant to lose 3/4 of its leaves a few weeks ago when the temp went up to 33 degrees C with hot gusty wind.

However I realise that there are some other factors such as using one of those self-watering pots which results in soggy soil and using new soil with osmocote fertilizer blended in.

I wish I knew these before transplanting the plant, but it's now too late to do anything more without stressing the plant further. I can see 5-7 new buds opening so hopefully it's a good sign.

 

Thanks Alex.

________________________________________

Hahahaha. Maple Sydney, that sounds like bad news, especially considering that 33 degrees Celsius is quite cool for summer weather.

I think I'll wait for a while before I buy the fertiliser, in case it only exacerbates matters.

Well, good luck to you and your plant. At least your plant sounds like it is going to survive, which gives me hope.

I just read your other posts - hopefully, the leaves falling off is due to the water at the bottom of the pot and not the weather!

________________________________________

By the way, does anybody know how much I should water my plant on hot, sunny days? And how often?

 

OUCH!!

Acer palmatum does very well here, where average summer temperatures are 15°C, and don't normally get above 24° (30° was recorded, just once, for the first time ever, 4 years ago . . . and it wasn't nice).

 

well, I have the same problem here in Houston, Texas, with summers temperatures ussually about 90-105F (30-40C) during july to mid september. I just pass the hottest days, and all my JMs survived.... however I got two atropurpureums planted in ground in full sun (almost all day) with severe leaves scorched (well litteraly fried), but with constant watering (sometimes twice daily), they sprout new leaves two times during summer season and now, for fall, they look wonderful. Some Sango kaku had similar faith, but again ther recovered nicely for fall color. I put all my potted maples in shade (using a shade cloth) during july and August, and watered in a daily basis (no exception, sorry). Here are some pictures taken a few days ago with a little bit colder temperatures. Lef its my atropurpureum planted showing the third set of leaves only in summer season, middle the bloodgood, and right some of my potted maples facing the north side of the house (for me the protected side from sun). I think these pictures will give you some hope with your JM!!

Nelson

 

Those trees are certainly looking good Nelson
Nice to see the planted trees nicely mounded for better drainage, and well mulched

 

Thank you, Whis4ey!

It had been a hard (but sweet) work to keep these JMs healty, but now I enjoying them in my fist fall color season.
Certainly, this year was very intense in hard work, just to make mounded beds and mulching (40 cubic yads of good soil and another 40 cubic yards of mulch), adding underground drainage with 4" perforated pipe, installing an irrigation system, and planted more than 120 plants and trees for the landscape.
I had to built my garden literally from nothing, once the house's construction finished last march. Now I'm just relaxing a bit, since all the garden fundation is done. Next year I hope to continue improving it with companion plants for maples and trees.

 

Remember to all that acer Campestre (Field maple)is very dry and wind resistence ; ex.the cultivar Royal Ruby is beautiful like JM, but another cultivar are very beautiful ,i write this because more acer are beautiful and easy to cultivations ;Jm are nice but is difficult to cultivation ,my advice is start with one "easy" maple ...

 

Very nice collection you have there, Nelran.

You certainly gave me some hope for my maple. It's nice to know they can survive hot weather and even full sun!

I think the most important thing for me is that they can adapt.

 

Thanks Maple Sydney. Just try to keep them well watered during hot days with good drainage soil and very important: cover the soil with 2" or 3" inches of mulch. As I said, The maple of the fist photo were completely fried (three times) this summer, and it thrive very well. Another method that I used (specially with the dissectums) is keep them in containers and begin to expose them to sun in longer intervals each week. The last resource: I protected some of them them with a temporary shade cloth for this first season and keeping them well watered (again you can get some scorched leaves due the wind or high temperature), but it will recover in two or three weeks. Here are other pictures. As you can see, I don't have any big tree yet to provide some shade for the maples, but they pass first test (next summer I will pray again....). Good luck!!

 

Purpleleaf Japanese maples go bronze and crispy in full exposure even here in dull and cool western WA summers, unless planted in a liberally watered location.

 

So that's mean to me that no matter I will do; the combination JMs-hot/sun/high temperature results in at least some leave's damage regarding if they're here or WA, correct?

 

In Houston probably hot sun needs to be dealt with and maybe also mineral salts might be a problem, I don't know. Here Japanese maples are a standard item, I'd think if they tended to work there outlets would have quantities of them as they do here.

 

Certainly, they're not common here yet, but I got almost all my JMs specimens from local nurseries, and for the last couple of years I have seen an increasing demand for them (at least the cultivars more sun tolerant). That's happen in Dallas/Fort Worth with some nurseries specialized in JMs (Metro maples) and here with others (Maas nursery). As soon as the people know more of these plants the demand will increase, so nurseries will want to provide them.
Also, making the relation between Azaleas and JMs, Houston has a long tradition with cultivation Azaleas and Rhododendrons (supported by garden associations "Azaleas society" and their annual exhibitions).
So I think they can grow here. Of course, probably this task will demand much more effort and care than other areas.
My short experience with the JMs here don't allow me to answer the question yet; but until now, the near future looks promising....

Nelson


Nelson

 

It's only been around two weeks since I planted the tree and about a dozen of its leaves are already burnt at the tips, despite watering it twice a day - once in the morning and once in the evening. I've noticed that the new growths are the most susceptible to such leaf burns. And the temperature hasn't even exceeded 34 degrees celsius yet. Even though the leaves are burnt, only one or two has fallen off, it appears to be surviving... It'll be 37 degrees celsius in a few days time.. And then, and then we shall see. And ahahaha I suppose I ought to buy some mulch for the tree soon... Would mulching really make that much of a difference to the health of the leaves?

 

34C seems darned hot to me :)
I would shade your tree from heat such as that, and definitely from 37C or more
Mulch would also help tremendously
But you better keep watering .......

 

I had given up on mine. After my decision to repot the atropurpureum with potting mix without blended fertilizer, it just made the tree lost even more leaves. This despite only receiving 2 hours of afternoon sun.

You might have more luck with your planted-in-ground.

I've now decided to try my luck with the red maple Acer Rubrum. So I returned the atropurpureum and exchanged with the red maple. Luckily the nursery is very understanding.

From what I've learned the red maple tolerates full sun and partial shade. The leaves aren't as small and intricate as Japanese Maples, but they're certainly not as delicate.

And I love the symmetrical/upright structure.