I was wondering what the concensus was on Autumn Moon. I live in Central Illinois and have one planted in morning/early afternoon sun and then shaded. I have had it in the ground since spring of 2008 and each year it struggles. It's not dead or dying, just not taking off. It did have quite a bit of winter dieback this spring and I was surprised because we had a mild winter, although we had a lot of snow and had so much rain until the first of July, it could be that. It is in a raised bed, so it shouldn't under normal conditions be getting too wet. Anyway, I was just wondering if it is difficult to grow or does anyone have some site recommendations? Maybe yours is doing great in a certain location, etc. Often I have noticed that some maples seem to sit but then get stronger each year for a few years, does Autumn Moon do this? Thanks for suggestions/observations. The first picture is in July 2008, the second today, July 2, 2011. It seems to be shrinking, not getting stronger. Kay
It is most certainly not thriving where it is planted I can't comment on your weather conditions or climate so perhaps someone else can guide you better on that. They are ( like all Japanese maples of course) temperamental. I have always found the Aureum and Autumn Moon to be more liable to damage from winds (whether warm or cold) and generally to be more fragile
Kaydye, I have always had problems with both the fullmoon and the Autumn moon maples. My first fullmoon was a 7 gallon, and every year it grew smaller and smaller, till it reached about 1/3 the size it was when I got it. But for the last 2 years it has seemed to have stabilized and stopped shrinking. I have fared worse with the Autumn moon, my first tree did not make it thru winter, and the second one looks exactly like yours. Looked great when I got it, but getting progressively smaller. But I am in TX, with 100+ F heat all summer, I am not sure if I am asking too much... xman
Thanks to both for the response. Actually, I am thinking it's probably too hot for it here, maybe too dry. I'm not sure about the dryness, but I know my A. shirasawanum 'Aureum' has a moist spot with drainage (on top of a hill) and only gets morning sun. I was thinking a little more sun would bring out the colors in the leaves on Autumn Moon, but it probably gets too hot here. This fall I think I'll dig it up and keep it in a pot over the winter. I'll start looking for a better place. Hopefully, that will be the answer. Kay
I've been most unkind to my Autumn Moon and it has done well. The first year I let it get too dry and had some minor die back in the crown. But since then I've moved it a few times and each location it has done better. At my property I struggle to find enough sun, but since I found the right location the tree has been performing really well.
It has been my own experience that, if you have a plant that is not doing particularly well, it is in the wrong place, and will never do well there. Moving it somewhere more suitable is the answer Sounds obvious, but it is amazing just how determined we can be sometimes to have a plant thrive just where WE want it to be, rather than consider the plants needs :)
Re: Acer shirasawanum 'Autumn Moon' tricky? Several of the Shirasawanums are quite finicky about competition for light, water and nutrients from other nearby companion plants. I have found that it is better to leave these Maples as a solitary plant in the ground for a while before we ever introduce other plants as ground covers or accent plants to coincide with our chosen Maple. In the second photo there are signs in the leaves of a nutrient imbalance in part due to a lack of deep watering. [Mulches are fine in some locations but around here with warm to hot and dry Summers we have to be careful that the mulch does not absorb up much of the free water and leave the root zone of the tree almost begging for a drink. We give and the coarse ground mulch can take away much of the water we felt was enough to adequately hydrate the tree. In warm Summer locations mulches can be a godsend but in some locations mulches can be a real problem as well. We have learned the latter the hard way around here with the non "Sun" loving Azaleas as an example - nice and moist in the mulched areas and with dry root zones and desiccated roots.] It is possible for a tree to sit in the ground and do very little for a time and then start to show signs of adequate growth later on. The problem aspect is when a tree looks good as a juvenile plant in the ground and then starts to have some dieback probably due to Verticillium alboatrum already in the plants system and we start to see attrition take over, whereby the new growth we see becomes less and less each year after we've had some limb and branch dieback. Unfortunately there just isn't a variety (cultivar) of Shirasawanum or Japonicum either that does not have quite a bit of alboatrum in the plants system. One rule that some people swore by is that the cultivars and their variant forms that have yellow coloration in the leaves are the most prone to branch wilt dieback upon a stress or more than one stress and yes, even these tress do experience Winter stress to their root zones that is not evident until soon after leafing out in the Spring. I like it that some people have tried to move in ground plants to another location hoping that the plant will behave or grow better in another location in one's yard. Not all of the time does this practice work well for the Japonicums and the Shirasawanums. Actually the percentages of the past indicate that this procedure has not been successful to most people but when we take some initiative and see where in our yard our Maple does seem to do better than before the task does indeed seem more enlightening when it works for us. Autumn Moon has always been a tricky plant to grow well in a landscape. Some of the European gardens probably have been the most successful with this Maple over time such as in England and the Netherlands. In Oregon the 50/50 percentage of us getting an Autumn Moon to do well for us has been the norm for many years, at least 30 that I am aware of the Oregon Maples. I think Joyce has a great set up for this Maple to do well, Sam does also and I already know that Gomero does with the dappled shade where he is. We have to get this Maple established in the ground before it will become adapted and do well over time for us. Much can be said that this rule of thumb can be applied to all of the Shirasawanums, the Japonicums and the Sieboldianums as well. In the case of this Maple, I just cannot see myself lifting it out of the ground and planting it somewhere else just yet. I'd put it back in a container for a few years and baby it hoping to reestablish a root system again and then in about 3-5 years replant it. With the lack of vigor seen in this tree compared to how it used to look, even a replant now can be an added stress to the tree that it may not recover from. Why take the risk? Just put it in a large container for a time and get some root system again and hopefully restore much of depleted vigor that once was and is certainly not altogether present now. Jim
I was meaning to reply to this question but forgot, sorry. Actually, I have just done exactly that this year: pulled up Autumn Moon to spend a few years re-establishing roots in a pot. Mine was in the ground since I think 2004, planted as a young graft, and was only very slowly getting its roots under it. Two years ago it was savaged by deer (and was never very big anyway) who ate pretty much the entire side of the plant. Last year it seemed to shrink even more, so I made the decision to pull it. Although it has not recovered in shape, it is doing much better this year in the pot, and I sense it's going to pull through. Autumn Moon was in what I consider a "good spot", it got some shelter from the north and east and was in shade of some birch, which is very dappled. I've replaced it with A. japonicum 'Kujaku nishiki' which so far seems to be doing well in the spot, and slightly more shaded is A. pictum 'Usugumo' that appears to be doing well enough. (Don't want to jinx it by saying more than that!) One of the most elegant maples for me, in its habit and general look, is A. shirasawanum ssp shirasawanum. I don't know if it's hard to get hold of, but no one ever seems to talk about it, much to my surprise! -E
I think pulling mine out of the ground this fall is what I'll do. It looks stressed, but not terminal at this time. I think it can wait until fall, right? Wouldn't that be better than to try it in the heat of summer? Kay
I have found with some issue type trees location within ones garden can be very important to for a tree. I am quite suprised as to how many little climate changes we have in our gardens. Little difference of a few feet can have a huge impact on some of these tree. A few weeks ago I moved a large As Aureum (in a container) no more than 40' to a spot which had a little more shade. The next thing I knew the top leaves were gone. I realized it has a little more wind in that location. 30' from it in a triangle is a As Aureum which is doing great but it has a few taller trees protecting it. For many of the japanese maple trees you do not need to worry so much but for others to thrive it does take some knowledge of your own gardens climates.
You're absolutely right. And then there's soil in different areas and drainage of that soil, exposure to sun, wind, kids, pollution, ph, fertility, insects, animals, lawnmowers. It's amazing any survive. Kay
